This month’s Daring Cooks challenge involved an unusual fish called skate. I had tasted skate before at cooking school and loved it. Not a big fan of cooked fish (but I’ll eat sashimi and smoked salmon, go figure), I was pleasantly surprised by its freshness and its texture. Our hostess, Sketchy, from Sketchy’s Kitchen is a big fan of molecular cuisine, so this challenge also provided a good introduction to this side of cooking I had yet to explore. This is a dish from Grant Achatz, found in the Alinea cookbook.

The list of accompanying ingredients was simple, yet took me a good afternoon to prep, most of it involving my micro-wave to dehydrate the various herbs. Not the best way to do this, to be sure, but I did not have a dehydrator. Everything was pretty straightforward. The results were quite rich, the method involving cooking the beans and poaching the fish in beurre monté. The fish was leaned on a bed of sliced bananas and green beans. I quite enjoyed the combination of fish and banana. Who knew?… All in all an interesting foray into the world of molecular cuisine.

Skate, Traditional Flavors Powdered - with changes

• 4 skate wings
• * Beurre monte
• * 300g fresh green beans
• sea salt/kosher salt
• 1 banana
• 454g butter – 4 sticks
• 300g lemons
• 5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
• 150g cilantro
• 150g parsley
• 100g dried banana chips
• 300g spray dried cream powder (or powdered milk)
• 100g cup minced red onion
• 200g capers (brined, not oil)

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte – 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break – this is your poaching liquid.

Powders – prepare ahead of time
caper / onion
lemon powder
cilantro/parsley powder
‘brown butter’ powder

Powders
once dried, all powders should be pulsed in a coffee grinder/spice mill/morter and pestle then passed through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

citrus powder
300g lemons
1000g simple syrup
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet

zest 300g of lemons (10.6 oz), remove the pith from the zest and poach in the simple syrup three times. dry with paper towels and move to a dehydrating tray. 130 for 12 hours. pulse the zest in a coffee grinder, pass through chinois, and mix with citric acid/vitamin C powder.

If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 8 to 10 minutes at medium powder. Once dried, follow the other instructions.

cilantro/parsley powder
150g cilantro
150g parsley

blanch the parsley in boiling saltwater for 1 second, submerge the leaves in ice water for 3 minutes. Dry on paper towels and place on dehydrator tray. 130 for 12 hours. grind and pass through chinois.

If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 30 seconds, turn over leaves and microwave for another thirty seconds. They should be dry by now, pulse in coffee grinder, pass through chinois and reserve.

onion powder
100g cup minced red onions

dehydrator – 130 for 12 hours
microwave at medium power for 20 minutes.

pulse in grinder, pass through chinois

Caper powder
200g capers (get the ones packed in brine/vinegar)

run the capers under cold water for two minutes to remove some of the brine.
dry on paper towels and dehydrate for 12 hours at 130 degrees.
microwave instructions are unclear. Dry them as much a possible with paper towels, the microwave on medium for 1 minute. Check the moisture content and stir them. repeat for 30 second intervals until they are dry. If you use this method, pleas post the time needed to dry the capers.

Once dry, pulse and sift the powder. Mix it with the onion powder.

Brown Butter powder

100g Dried banana chips (unsweetened if possible – many are coated in honey – the freeze dried ones would be brilliant)
300g spray dried cream powder

If you cannot find the cream powder, you can substitute Bob’s red mill non fat dry milk powder, or even carnation instant milk powder. The substitutions will alter the flavor a little, but you will still get the general idea.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sift the cream powder into a fine layer on a silpat or on parchment. bake for 4 minutes, then remove for heat. If it bakes for too long, it will burn. Be very cautious with all powders in the oven. They all go from browned to burnt in a few seconds.

grind the banana chips in a coffee grinder and mix with the toasted cream powder. Pass this through a chinois and reserve.

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte – 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break – this is your poaching liquid.

Skate
Prepare the skate – 50G v shaped cuts are recommended
Bring 100g water, 100g beurre monte, and green bean rounds to a boil over high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated (about 3 minutes), when the pan is almost dry, remove it from heat and season with 3g salt

bring 300g water and 300g beurre monte to simmer over medium heat, add skate wings and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and flip the wing over and let rest in pan for two more minutes. Transfer to warming tray lined with parchment and season with 5 grams of fine sea salt.

I like to be guided by serendipity. My honey told me last Wednesday night, when we met for dinner, that his neighbor had given him a fresh bag of cherries from her tree, adjacent to his garden. He wasn’t sure what to do with them all. On Thursday I received one of the latest Rouxbe posts in my in-box. Sure enough, there was a recipe for a nice cherry torte. On Saturday, while he was working on a side job, I went to work on this recipe. It turned out to be a perfect grown-up dessert on a hot summer Vancouver night: not too sweet, with a healthy dose of white wine. Served with a bit of ice cream, it was a perfect ending, enjoyed on a cool evening  garden patio. I’ll be keeping this recipe close by to try with other fruit this season.

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England. There was quite a bit of history to this dessert. According to the Challenge,

Flan-like desserts that combine either sweet egg custard over candied fruit or feature spiced ground almonds in a pastry shell have Mediaeval roots. The term “Bakewell pudding” was first penned in 1826 by Meg Dods; 20 years later Eliza Acton published a recipe that featured a baked rich egg custard overtop 2cm of jam…

By the latter half of the 1800s, the egg custard evolved into a frangipane-like filling; since then the quantity of jam decreased while the almond filling increased.

This tart, like many of the world’s great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry and mixed the eggs and sugar separately and poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow.

Regardless of what the venerable Mrs. Greaves’ cook did or didn’t do, lore has it that her guests loved it and an ensuing pastry-clad industry was born. The town of Bakewell has since played host to many a sweet tooth in hopes of tasting the tart in its natural setting.

The recipe was pretty straightforward. I went to my favorite grocery store for all things baking, Famous Foods, and found almond dust, perfect for the sweet pastry crust. I prepared the dough the night before to allow it to rest overnight. I wasn’t quite sure what to use as the fruity filling. After a bit of dithering, I finally opted for a lemon curd. The next day, I made the curd, rolled pastry and placed it in the freezer. The frangipane was next and then the assembly. It turned out to be a very light and not too sweet tart. Quite nice. I love almonds, so this was right up my alley. I served the tart with a a simple whipped cream, flavoured with a bit of limoncello. Another nice addition to my dessert roster. Great challenge, and I loved the historical component to it. Thank you ladies!

Bakewell Tart

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

The second Daring Cooks challenge continued with bite-sized wonders in the form of potstickers/chinese dumplings. Our hostess with the mostess this month was Jen from use real butter. Living next to Vancouver’s Chinatown, these dumplings are a familiar sight in small chinese bakeries and restaurants in my neighborhood. I can buy them fresh at Superstore, or  frozen in pretty much every supermarket. It’s almost a staple in this town. Hon’s is renowned for theirs, and Fujiya also makes very nice gyozas (the japanese version) for take-out. Either, often a treat after a long day’s work.

We had made various chinese dumplings in cooking school, so this was not a first for me. But, it was a timely reminder of how easy they are to make at home.  The challenge was simple enough: Choose a filling, choose a dough and choose a cooking method.

I chose the following combination:

dough:
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for work surface

In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch. Weighing  ingredients is highly recommended for this recipe.

Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking – about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried – rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

and,

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Prep was typical of many asian dishes, i.e. long with many ingredients involved. Got reacquainted with my chef’s knife (and the importance of keeping it sharpened). But the results were well worth it. The pork filling was just delicious. I had a lot left, which I froze for future dumplings. I steamed some potstickers and pan fried some. I preferred the pan-fried ones, done in a little bit of chili oil. I did not actually boil them either, which gave them a nice hot crunch. The sauce was a great addition as well. My asian pantry is now getting well-stocked, and I’ll be making these savoury nuggets again before long. Great challenge!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. We had worked with flaky dough a little while back, but the challenge this time around was to actually make and stretch the dough paper thin.The filling was left to our imagination. Being prime time for rhubarb in this part of the world, and having access to a fresh-from-the-garden supply thanks to my honey’s backyard, I decided to go with a classic strawberry-rhubarb filling. The dough was easy to put together. The stretching took a while and I resorted to rolling it to avoid tearing it too much. It took a good 30 minutes to get it to what felt like the proper thickness.

I knew deep down it coulda (shoulda) been thinner, but a) I was worried the dough would dry out, and  b) I was tired of rolling this thing.  I added the strawberry-rhubarb filling, rolled it, tucked its ends and put it in the oven. Turned out all right. But again, I knew the dough should have been thinner.

Talking about it with my honey over dessert (of guess what?…), the image of my KitchenAid pasta roller popped in my mind. Could it work? Granted, it was way narrower than was needed, but what’s wrong with mini strudels? A week later, I repeated the recipe, this time with the roller. It worked beautifully — now, that was my style of rolling dough. The results were much crispier (as expected) and delicate. This method would be ideal for making flaky canapés or small spanakopitas. Might be on to something here…Though next time I’ll make sure there’s another pair of hands available. This dough really stretches! Meanwhile, on to the Daring Cooks challenge (due May 14th)!

Two and a half year after launching the Daring Bakers challenges, the ladies-in-charge followed up with the Daring Cooks challenge. Geared towards the savoury instead of sweet, these challenges will follow the same model at the Daring Bakers challenges: a host chooses a recipe and members  follow it and blog about it on a set day. The first challenge, hosted by Cream Puff, was taken from the Zuni Café Cookbook. The Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi recipe was pretty straightforward. I had done potato gnocchis a few times before, but never with cheese. The final result was a nice and light gnocchi. I pan-fried them, after boiling them, for a crunchier texture. The use of sage was a nice combination with the ricotta. Looking forward to next month’s challenge.

To join these challenges, drop by the Daring Kitchen and send an email to Lis and Yvonne. Everyone is welcome, and you’ll find yourself part of a very supportive group of cooks and bakers.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. One of my favorite cakes, after Boston Cream pie (which is actually a cake and not a pie), this challenge came at a good time. I finally had an opportunity to serve this challenge to a large group of people instead of facing the challenge of eating it alone or pushing it to my honey. Easter dinner was on the near horizon, and that’s where this cake was headed. I have to admit it was one of the easiest cheesecakes I have made. We were encouraged to use any flavoring we wanted, but when I read the Mexican Turtle variation included in the recipe, I knew it was the one I wanted: bittersweet chocolate, pecans and caramel sauce. Hummm.hmm… To keep with the theme, I added a tablespoon of tequila to the mix. I paired this cake with my favorite salted caramel sauce. The final result was very creamy and quite rich and to die-for, if I may say so myself. Although some of my fellow Daring Bakers experienced some problems with water-logged crusts due to water seeping in, I was pleased my foil-wrapped aging spring-form stayed tight. Now looking forward to next month’s challenge AND the first Daring Cooks challenge (which will be a lot of fun to do — the recipe was posted on Friday). Watch this space on May 14th for the results of this new set of challenges.

• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/16 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)

Return the caramel to the lowest heat setting, whisking constantly. Cook and stir the salted butter caramel for 2 minutes over the low heat. Remove from the heat and season the sauce with the 1/16 teaspoon sea salt; stir until it is dissolved completely.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. I admit I frowned a little when I first saw the month’s challenge. Pasta doesn’t really fall within my definition of baking. But hey, it’d been cold and dreary and snowy in Vancouver, so pasta, and especially lasagna, was a good comfort-food remedy.

I had made pasta from scratch before in school, and at home. My honey gave me a set of KitchenAid pasta attachment kit for Christmas, so rolling the dough was a non-issue and quick. The recipe called for a spinach pasta. The process was straightforward, but for a little while, I never thought the dought would come together. Two eggs, 3-1/2 cups of flour and 300 grams of spinach, made for one dry, crumbly mass. But, after a while of working my dough scraper and sprinkling a bit of cold water, it all came together. Following the resting period, we used the KitchenAid to roll out the dough and set the strips to dry.

The challenge also required a homemade meat ragu sauce and a bechamel sauce.  I found the ragu sauce provided inspiring, but with too much meat and not enough spices, so I created this one, based on Lynne’s recipe:

LizG Meat Ragu Sauce

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

150 g pancetta, cubed

100 g hot chorizo, small cubed

3 cans of Italian stewed tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

salt, pepper

Melt butter and sweat onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook a few seconds. Add the pancetta and cook for a few minutes. Add chorizo and cook for a few more minutes. Add the stewed tomatoes and chicken stock, stir well. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1-1/2 hours. When the sauce has reached desired consistency, remove from heat and cool. When still a little warm, use an immersion blender to puree sauce to desired consistency.

I made the sauce the night before to give the flavors a chance to deepen. The final results were quite nice, and after struggling with the dough (I should have chopped my spinach finer), was devoured happily. On to the April challenge!

Aside: The Daring Bakers has recently moved to gorgeous new digs at: The Daring Kitchen. What more,The Daring Cooks challenges are set to appear on the blogosphere very shortly. Drop by The Kitchen for more details.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

The recipe was perfectly timed for Valentine’s day – can’t beat chocolate cake and ice cream. This was one of the most straightforward challenges in a while, so it took no time to put together. I did encounter some problems with my baking ware, however. While shopping at Michael’s I came across some heart-shaped silicone cupcake molds, half-priced. I’ve never really baked with silicone before, but my own cupcake pan is looking pretty ratty, so I decided to give them a try. Looking on the net, I found out that, on certain occasions, baking times must be adjusted with silicone pans. It seems to take longer. Which would make sense considering silicone is also used for a lot of heat resistant products. The recipe called for a 20-25 minutes baking period, but that was for a 10 inch cake. Since I was making cupcakes, I decided to aim for the 25 minutes. (My oven is not the hottest either — I have to set it at 25F higher than the called-for temperature). I checked the cupcakes at the half-way mark, and they were still very runny. As the 20-minute mark approached, my mom called… I remembered the cupcakes when the buzzer went off. They looked fine at first, a little scorched on the side. But, after one bite, I knew I had a over-baked them. Still, with the help of some Krispys Chocolate Mint Candy ice cream, they were quite palatable. I look forward to trying this recipe again and, most importantly, the March Daring Bakers challenge.

The challenge with See’s Candies ‘ Krispys Mints^® was to keep its crispiness and minty coolness intact. As with the Toffee-ettes ^®, the Krispys Mints^® were just right on their own.  This month’s Daring Bakers challenge involved an ice cream component. I thought the mint would be a nice add-on to the ice cream and to the main dessert for the challenge (to be posted on this blog on February 28. Stay tuned!) The results were quite nice. I simply used my regular crème anglaise recipe and added some crushed Krispys Mints to the mix.

Krispys Mint Valentine Candy Ice Cream

Ingredients
200 ml milk
100 ml cream
1/4 vanilla bean, cut, scraped
3 egg yolks
50 g sugar
6 Krispys Mints, well crushed

Infuse milk, cream w/ vanilla bean. Whisk yolks and sugar. Temper hot cream with egg mix. Return to boil. Stir on low hear until nappé. Strain and cool in an ice bath. Once cooled, pour custard into ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions. I added the crushed Krispy Mints halfway through the final process.

Eat on its own or served with your favorite dessert.