Today I… Had a Complete Noodle Failure

Today I… Had a Complete Noodle Failure:

It started with an idea to make my own soba noodles. My udon noodles were so tasty, I thought it would be no problem.

They started out beautifully enough. I used a ratio of 2:1 buckwheat to bread flour with salt and water. The rested dough, once rolled a little bit, fed through the past roller to yield fine sheets of pasta.

It even cut into beautiful long threads instead of crumbling as I feared it might.

Kind of gorgeous aren’t they? Just think of them floating in dashi. What could go wrong?

Well, apparently, even a slight move in the warm broth, and they turned into sludge.

So sad. Obviously, no recipe until I get it right. I always do like a good challenge…

Has anyone made their own soba before? What’s your trick?

Today I… Juiced.

Today I… Juiced.:

I started up a CSA delivery again (Full Circle), after a break for the summer farmer’s market season, and I have yet to get quite into the swing of using it all before the next box shows up. Apples, pears, kiwis and spinach were starting to accumulate, so I pulled out my juicer for a tasty treat today. I got the juicer (this breville one) for a shoot, and don’t put it quite to the use I should since it lives downstairs in the appliance dungeon. Once I remember that I have it, I’m always glad that I pulled it out.

I think you could pretty easily pass this juice off as “kiwi” juice for the color if your family grimaces at the thought of spinach in their juice. I used 3 apples, 2 pears, 3 kiwi and 1 to 2 cups of spinach (including the stems). On the kiwis, I just chopped them in half and tossed them in the juicer. I was a little afraid that the skin might make the juice a bit weird, but it was fine. The mesh strainer in the juicer pretty much filters all of that out (of course, it also filters out a lot of the good fiber you get from the fruit).

Today I… Made Porridge

Today I… Made Porridge:

So, continuing on this whole breakfast theme thing I seem to have going on, how about some rice porridge?

This version simply cooks the rice (arborio, but any short grain will do) in some water and milk (1/2 cup rice, 1 1/2 cup water, 1 cup milk), with a pinch of salt and cinnamon until most of the liquid is gone and the rice is tender. Top with browned butter (yum!), brown sugar and some slightly caramelized (again in brown butter and a bit of sugar and salt) apple slices. My bowlful was just barely sweet, with most of the flavor coming from the browned butter and rice.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

I really can’t explain this. I don’t even like hazelnuts. But I do like these cookies. A lot. Think Nutella, if it were a cookie. Not just spread between two sugar cookies. But what if the Nutella was the cookie itself.

I have to hand it to Kim Boyce, who’s Good to the Grain simply inspires me more and more. I was in the process of indexing the book on Gobbledybook (remember that? Yes, I’m still, very slowly, entering cookbooks), and bookmarking just about every other recipe to make, when I came across the Honey Hazelnut Cookies. They looked like the perfect little biscuits… just the thing for a cup of tea. And then, I thought, what if… what if I added some cocoa powder. Wouldn’t that be something?

Then I thought, what if, instead of the little tea biscuits, what if I used a basic chocolate chip cookie type dough instead. The biscuits (which I still want to make) are a drier cookie. I wanted more of a soft, moist dough. Chocolate chip cookie dough, especially the whole wheat version in the same book, could be just the ticket. Kim’s dough is 100% whole wheat, but given I was adding ground hazelnuts, I decided to go with a combination of whole wheat, graham and all-purpose flours. I’m sure you could do any sorts of flour combinations, depending on how your tastes run. I love the little extra richness the graham and whole wheat flours give.

Under-baked, just slightly, the way I like my chocolate chip cookies, they are crisped just around the edges and soft and just little gooey inside.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

1/2 cup (45 g) hazelnuts

1/4 cup (30 g) graham flour

1/2 cup (80 g) all purpose

1/2 cup (80 g) whole wheat

1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 ounces butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Lightly toast the hazelnuts. You can do this in a skillet on the stovetop, or in a hot oven. You want them to heat just a little to release start to release their oils, not scorch them. Then use a spice grinder or food processor to finely grind them, skins and all.

Lightly whisk the dry ingredients (flours through salt) together to blend well. You can use a sifter, but small grains may be left over that don’t make it through the mesh. You can simply add these back in.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until they are smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat in the egg followed by the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mixing on low speed until just combined. Then, add in the ground hazelnuts and chocolate chips if you are using them.

You can bake these immediately, by dropping 1 to 2 tablespoon sized balls (depending on the size of cookie you want) onto the baking sheet with 1 to 2 inches between them (depending on the ball size). Bake until the cookies are a rich brown, about 10 to 15 minutes, turning half way through the baking. I like to under-bake mine a bit, so they stay soft.

You can also chill the dough, and keep it refrigerated up to a week. Cookies made form chilled dough will be thicker than those made from dough at room temperature.

Sriracha, Seductress in a Squeeze Bottle

Sriracha, Seductress in a Squeeze Bottle: "

'It's THE gateway drug of chili heads.'

'You know it's a sign that you've got a good condiment when you're making dishes to accommodate your condiment.'

-comments on chowhound.com's thread Sriracha Chili Sauce, Condiment or Crack?"

She fell in love with the seaside – A year has passed

This past year was a tumble. A dive that started – what felt like – a few seconds ago. Possibly with a busy sunday lunch at the restaurant, with only Guillaume and I doing service.

And to be honest we had no clue about how this whole restaurant thing worked. I remember our first ice-cream quenelles. I remember making way too much mise-en-place because we were so terrified we would run out during service. I remember the long hours.

But mostly I remember how happy I was. And certainly, how happy I am when I realise that I can handle a busy service, or organise my section, or even when I highlight the words from my prep list – meaning it’s been made.

So yes, 2010 was a good year. With laughs and tears, and more laughs. With perfect quenelles, and trust me when I say it’s all about the quenelle. With delicious food and delicious people.

I fell in and out of love twice. I fell in love with my job. And I fell in love with the most amazing people who make my days seem like a dream.

Namely, head-chef Richard Hondier, sous-chef James Mitchell, and my very own petit-pois or ecureuil sauvage - depending on my mood – Jack Walker, the apprentice.

Because in the end, there is no such thing as being surrounded by people who are passionate and push you out from your comfort zone, instead of being carrier-driven.

Now, I wish I had had the time to take more pictures of some of my very favourite desserts – mostly created for the set lunch menus – but service is fast and at times, brutal. A bit like being hit by a wave.

So instead, I’ll share my favourite experiments, because this is what I feel like doing at home now. Experiment, fail or not.

A beetroot cake. Possibly one of the best things that ever got out from oven. It was moist and fragrant. The perfect support of a rich cream-cheese frosting or a long afternoon of writing.

The cocoa brownies. My favourite discovery of this past year. Brownies that are chewy all the way through. And so easy to make, you’ll be able to have them for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner.

The avocado macarons. The recipe hasn’t been written yet, but those macarons were delicious. And not only because I’ve finally found the right settings on our oven for them to come out perfect, each and every time.

A rhubarb entremet. Made in early spring. With the people I care the most about. My grand-father went for a second serving and this, my friends, is a sign.

The little matcha brioches. Matcha might be an acquired taste to some, but for me it is the absolute favourite. And those cute brioches were simply delicious.

A lemon cake. This one was made and remade a greater number of times than I dare to admit. Everybody seems to love it. This is why I always have one in my freezer, just in case.

Looking backs at my recipes inevitably brings back memories.

Hours spent sat at the brasserie just below my old flat, writing the very beginning of a pastry book, while the snow was on its way.

Hours spent at the restaurant, working hard and playing harder. Filling the pages of my moleskine notebook with ideas for the desserts and afternoon teas.

Hours spent chatting with my friends Violet and Janelle, whose support I cannot be thankful enough for.

Hours spent trying to understand how to set up a business in London. Saving every penny you very genereously gave me to, one day, make my dream come true. And trust me, you’ll be the first to know when that happens.

This year, I have few resolutions. The main one is to focus and unclustter.

I will finish to write my book. I will learn ever and forever more. I will eat out as much as I possibly can afford it. I will learn Japanese. I will create a work portfolio. I will slow down at times.

And, because I feel like starting everything over again, I will stop writing here. Only to find a better place, which hopefully you will like as much as I do.

So while I’m drifting ashore on my little boat, I wish you all a happy new year. See you soon, on a new island.

Copyright © 2005-10 foodbeam

Comme un lait fraise

As I mentionned yesterday, I will now be writing somewhere else. Not because I’m not in like with foodbeam anymore, but because it feels right. Just like the moment I share with the coolest kid on the planet this morning.

Quite obviously, foodbeam will stay forever in my heart and on the internet.

For now, comme un lait fraise – or like a strawberry milk, you choose – is not yet the cosy place I had dreamt about, but I’m hoping it will eventually.

A place to share precious recipes, moments and places. A place that smells like rain and feels like being wrapped up in a blanket.

I will be honest with you and say how terrified I am with the thought of starting all over again. But it makes sense.

So join the party. And follow me across the pond! xx

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