Week 17: Tomatoes a la provencale and Tarte aux fraises

After last weeks poor performance and rating of non achieved for my Tarte aux fraises, I was adamant to resit and resubmit. However I also felt that I needed to try something new from Julia's repertoire of recipes. The "getting close to rotting stage tomatoes", perched on the kitchen bench, gave me the inspiration to try Tomoatoes a la provencale. Julia describes these as being one of the most savoury ways of serving tomatoes and they go well with many things. The stuffing is a mix of breadcrumbs, herbs (I used parsley), shallots and a sprinkle of olive oil, baked in the oven. I must say they did accompany the chicken/mushroom cream pasta dish for dinner quite nicely.

Call me a traitor, but I felt I needed a little more guidance for my repeat attempt for the Tarte aux fraises thanJulia could provide me. Luckily I did not have to look further than my book shelf as I have a weakness for books that seduce you with wonderful photo's even though you secretly know that the probability of baking or cooking a Gateau Saint-Honore is pretty remote. Lucky for me Will Torrent, the chef, had included a recipe for Tarte aux fraises. Actually it was quite exciting flicking through the pages and recognising dishes, that just a few months ago I would have had no idea what they were. Will grew up with a grandfather who was a chef in Bournemouth (I had grandparents that came from this area) and an uncle who owned a patisserie in Paris - so pastry was in his blood. Patisserie is all about technique, precision and elegance (I am doomed!), however, Will is very encouraging and states "When you make the decision to replicate these creations at home, you needn't doubt your skills; every basic technique is simple to master if you take your time (time poor!) are meticulous (how does the she'll be right philosophy fit into that!) and don't berate yourself too much for a novice attempt (Ok)". The pastry for the Tarte aux fraises this week was a pate sable - sable means sandy, and it is a recommended pastry for this dish. The change from last week was that this pastry was made with icing sugar, so before its overnight chill it was lovely and soft - it was more thereapuetic to the touch then play dough. The instructions were more detailed than Julia, and I need all the guidance I can get - I was going to mirror Will down to his crisp white shirt! This time the custard was smooth and non-flourey, no industrial sealant in sight and even the strawberries behaved. Updated rating from the judge (although not moderated) : Excellance  :-)






Mirror image

 

Will

Almost the same (just didn't have the same bread bin in the background!)

 



Tomates a la provencale

Week 16: Tarte aux Fraises

I usually try to complete my weekly cooking challenge on a Saturday, although this week, I must admit, the need for a nana nap on Saturday afternoon override any other item on my to do list. I found myself unconscious for 2 1/2 hours and was quite a pathetic specimen for the rest of the evening.
Tempted to do a Nigella with an avocado on toast equivalent, instead I committed myself to the cause and booked out some of my Sunday afternoon to complete a Tarte aux Fraises ... a Fresh Strawberry Tart.
I love summer and living in Hawke's Bay we are fortunate to be surrounded by orchards and a ready supply of fresh fruit including strawberries. Strawberries are well liked in our family, the issue was keeping the strawberries safe from little paws that were destined for the tarte.
Julia describes fresh fruit tarts as easy to make, pretty to look at and refreshing to eat. They consist of a fully baked tart shell, a glaze that protects the shell and a layer of crème pastissiere.Then of course the design of strawberries on top.
I deviated from the recipe today avoiding the addition of cognac both in the glaze, and custard filling believing that this would be more palatable to eldest daughter. I also didn't have red currant jelly for the glaze and thought the Pams strawberry jam, which was more jelly like, would do the trick.
Everything was lined up - the pastry shell, the hulled strawberries, the crème pastissiere and the glaze. However the custard was too thin, so I looked at trying to stiffen it up... this was the beginning of a mess!
I couldn't get a nice dimensional looking finish to the strawberries and certainly couldn't get them to snuggle close together. I avoided adding the glaze on top as despite following the rewarming instructions, it was way to thick.
 Although the finished product looked ok intack, and the pastry unmolded fine onto the plate the serving and the tasting was a unmitigated disaster. Even though the custard was thicker then before there was no way you could provide a nice tidy slice. So the individual servings looked a mess and the custard tasted like flour. On a positive note, I do believe though I have invented an ecological friendly industrial grade sealant. The glaze I made and painted on the pastry shell as a light waterproofing readily stuck to your teeth which required the family members to scrape it off with their finger nails.
According to my family I should be glad that this "non achieved" dish was only witnessed by them and how embarrassing it would have been if we had had visitors! The fresh strawberries were extracted from the custard goo and readily eaten. Maybe that avocado on toast idea wasn't so bad after all!

False advertising!

Industrial sealant in the making

Looked smooth

The judges

Unachieved!

Week 14: Truss me...Poulet poele a l'estragon

OK ... I admit I've avoiding trussing due to the association with sewing. When I explained to Caroline what the theme for for this week was, she replied ... "Good Luck" ... she knows me so well!
I was embarking on Julia's recipe "Poulet poele a l'estragon" - i.e. Casserole roasted chicken with tarragon.

 This was a different way of roasting from where I normally just shove the chook in a roasting dish with a sprinkle of a few herbs, into the oven. Following Julia's recipe you truss the chook, brown in butter and oil, then set to roast in a covered casserole with herbs and seasonings. Julia was absolutely right when she described this as "lovely method as the buttery, aromatic steam in the casserole gives the chicken great tenderness and flavour". The chicken was tender and moist, and my normal reliance of a gravy was not required.

Trussing is used as a technique so when you present the bird on the table it will look neat and attractive. For a chook there are two ties, one at the tail end to secure the drumsticks and one at the breast end to fasten the wings and neck skin. So as a good student I followed Julia's instructions and I thrust the needle in and tied that little chook up. Coming to serving time (which I must admit was late) the family was so hungry, that I could have served them bake beans on toast and they would have been happy!

Our eiffile tower candle was lit, as we sat down to eat out poulet for dinner and reflect on the tragedy of the terrorist attacks in Paris - vive la France



Truss me!

Tarragon.., courtesy of Millstream gardens (check out their website)

Vive la France



Week 13: Baba au Rhum

This week I was looking for something new. The section on babas caught my eye. I have never heard of babas, so was quite intrigued. Note - these are not to be confused with the French children's cartoon "Barbapapa". Actually I am quite fond of the Barbapapa characters and the way the papa is pink. However these little numbers were not child's play and were certainly for the adult palate.

According to Julia, babas always seem  to delight guests and they are not difficult to make! Sold!
As the "Mastering French Cooking" recipe book is pretty light on illustrations, I googled babas  to find out what the finished product should look like. Luckily the dough raising required a few hours as our internet connection was so slow. This is almost as frustrating as this laptop that I type this blog on... there are three keys that don't work properly - 2 w and s. In seems like every second letter is a s or a w! Although for some reason the keys warm up and start working (go figure!)

When I finally got connection, I watched a lovely romantic music video dedicated to 'Mum's Babas' in which the mother was lovingly preparing the babas whilst the family selected the finest Christmas tree in a Winter wonderland scene. However the picture was rather different here. I was stinky from a recent run which slightly over-powered the Pandora pond smell on me from my morning swim. Rather than the Christmas decorations I had piles of washing on the table (we were going to be eating dinner outside!), coupled with a potted primrose which had long ago did its dash of splendour and was way overdue for replanting outside.

Despite lacking the ability to conjure up a French winter scene my appetite for a baba was growing. In fact when the family reconvened for dinner everyone was ravenous from a full day of outside activities. Oldest daughter and father had a day rafting, and youngest daughter had a morning at rowing.
I had decided to make the Babas au Rhum - where firstly you make the babas which basically are  dough balls. Then the babas imbibe (another new word for me) the rum. I served these with whipped cream and accompanying extra rum syrup. For the "classique" babas au rhum you paint the babas with apricot glaze and place a cheery on top.
As a considerate mother I had already removed two babas from the rum baptism for eldest daughter. I needn't have bothered as according to Caroline they were "yuck" but I could redeem myself if I consented to allowing an ice-block instead! Luckily 3 of us enjoyed them (Mum and Dad there are a few left over coming your way). And somehow the rum went down quite nicely in the kiwi summer outdoor scene.

Look out for the barbapapa in the babas!