almonds

Breakfast Thoughts: Lavender Oatmeal Squares

24.09.2008 108 Comments

Let’s interrupt our usual programming of decadent and creamy treats to talk about breakfast, shall we? You know, that "most important meal" of the day, the one that also defines our lifestyle, mood, habits. Even the last edition of Saveur, almost entirely devoted to breakfast made it to my mailbox right when I had breakfast oatmeal squares in the oven…sign.

Over the past years, I have been catching myself saying I love breakfast but what I should really say is "I’d love to have breakfast". I hardly have time or appetite in the morning for more than a cup of coffee and a few spoonfuls of yogurt. Everyday I tell clients about the benefits of a balanced breakfast and yet this is a classic case of "do as I say and not as I do". Bad me.

It has not always been the case. As a typical French child, my mom would fix hot chocolate, toast and jam, maybe a yogurt, before heading to school. Sometimes toast was a croissant or a slice of brioche (toasted with some honey, please!). More or less of the above combination made its way onto my plate as I grew up. Before I stopped running as much as I used to due to knee issues (my fault: run 5 miles each morning then go work at the restaurant for 10-12 hours, 6 days a week…6 years later, you can imagine the x-rays!!), I would fix myself a good breakfast. Then I started going to bed later and later each day and waking up earlier and earlier and my appetite, time or desire for breakfast went down the drain.

I started to look into other cultures for inspiration and different fares and still nothing. I wanted to be a breakfast eater!! I finally realized that I can’t eat a lot in the morning so breakfast would have to comprise a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients in a two to three bite something. Breakfast squares became an obvious and manageable choice for me. I can prepare them in 10 minutes the night before and grab a couple on my way out the door in the morning.

The dough is so forgiving and basic that you can change, substitute and replace at will. Today they were oatmeal, tomorrow they will be quinoa flakes. Almonds sometimes turn into pistachios, honey turns into agave syrup. I sometimes add a pinch of cinnamon or a spoonful of flax seeds. Today it was a pinch of edible lavender buds. If I know the morning is going to drag into a late lunch, I’ll have some with dried fruits for extra energy. You get the idea….the possibilities are quite endless and though it may not be the perfect breakfast, it is still better than what I would usually have: one big cup of coffee. Baby steps….

I have a curious mind and like you, I love to read about food so please tell me: "What do you eat for breakfast?"

Breakfast Oatmeal Squares:

Makes 9, 3-inch squares

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oats
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp edible lavender buds
1 egg
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, almonds and lavender and set aside. In a smaller bowl whisk together the egg, yogurt, honey and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir together with a large spoon or your hands until the dough comes together.
Pat the dough into a squares directly on the parchment paper, cut through with a sharp knife into 9 pieces and bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake or you will end up with rocks under your teeth. Let cool and break the squares apart. Feel free to use a scoop and make drop cookies instead.

Note: Attention fellow bloggers! Martha Stewart is having a blog contest. For more info, please visit her blog "The Martha Blog".

Pineapple Almond Cheesecakes With Caramelized Pineapple

25.02.2008 46 Comments

We all know the phrase "when life throws you lemons make lemonade" and while I am not going to tell you that when life throws you pineapples you should made pineapple-ade, I do have admit that our kitchen counter tops did look like they were sprouting pineapples like mad this past week.

It started when Sunny, my wonderful produce guy cornered me near the okra "Hey! It’s been a while since I saw pineapples on your blog!" Oh dear! He read the bits about himself then…maybe I should make him sound like he is Mark Wahlberg’s perfect look alike?….Hugh, I digress…"Hmm, I did sorbet once at the very beginning…." He then pushed 3 perfect little pineapples down in my cart "Well then, that’s settled! These should give you some materials to bake with!" I already had my hands full with baking this week, so I was unsure if I would get to them in time, but given that pineapples are the symbol of hospitality and good wishes, I could not refuse. You don’t have to be anywhere special to see this exotic fruit on door bells, gates, napkins, calendars, jewelry, license plates. The South loves pineapples allright!

I know, I know…three pineapples are nothing to write home about and not enough to make pineapple-ade or be all hung up about. If only it had ended there! The very same day, my lovely neighbor C. dropped off a couple of pineapples because "they were on sale and we all know I can’t bake but you can!". Two days later it was my mother in law who loves to shop huge discount stores and brought me three more. Let’s pause a second: so far we have 8 pineapples..which is getting out there but still manageable…somewhat! Thursday, as I was leaving the catering kitchen, the produce delivery guy stopped by and after I signed the invoice, I saw him walking towards me with a pineapple in each hand. I started heading towards my car but he yelled "Hey! These fell off to the back during the trip, and I can’t figure out which box they’re from. Why don’t you take them?" Before I could even say "no, thank you", there I was holding the fruits like a couple of newborn babies.

I was started to think that my Chinese fortune cookie from Sunday dinner reading "Go with the flow" was definitely coming true. Now I had a whole counter of the kitchen dedicated to pineapples…We went the easy routes first and juiced a couple which brought the number back down to eight. I made a quick ambrosia with one and took it to my mother-in-law’s book club; it is the ladies' favorite and all were happy. That night I made a fruit salad and stewed pineapples for crepes…down to six. What next? Jam! That would knock down a couple,easy…! Then one for a special verrine for Old Chef and one for these cheesecakes…and now I have the more reasonable two pineapples on the counter. Gee! That reminded me of the time the Exec. Chef kept ordering case after case of pears like they were going out of production!

We had the cheesecakes Saturday night at the end of a casual dinner (charcuterie, cheese, bread, salad and wine) shared with another couple. I used ground almonds in the crust as well as ginger cookie crumbs and since I have tonka beans stored in the fridge I grated one in the batter to impart that bitter almond taste that I love so much. Before I get emails and comments about these: yes, I am aware that they contain coumarin which is a blood thinner but I will say that you have the option of using almond extract if you are worried about this. I am no kamikaze either but I figure that one grated bean divided among four cheesecakes is fine, no to mention that I bake with them once every other month…Be responsible and eat everything in moderation (butter, sugar, oil and tonka beans…).

I used fresh cut pineapple in the batter and I caramelized cut slices of the fruit for the topping, using the pan juices to drizzle on the plate. I wrote the recipe for four 4 inch round cheesecake springform pans, but to change the presentation a bit, I cut each unmolded cheesecake into a square. Feel free to leave them whole (kind of a large portion for one person) or to split them up. You can also make one 8 inch cheesecake with the same amount of batter if you want. Since he kitchen looked more like a pineapple field this past week, I am sending this entry to Cookthink Root Source Challenge #2.

Pineapple Almond Cheesecakes With Caramelized Pineapple:

Makes four 4 inch round cakes (springform pans)

24 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tonka bean, grated or 2 tsp. almond extract
1 Tb lemon zest
1 cup diced fresh pineapple (you can sub canned if you want)
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or ginger cookies crumbled up to make 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup ground almonds (also called almond meal, almond powder, almond flour)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
4 slices pineapples
1/3 sugar
2 Tbs butter

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium size bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs,almonds, sugar and the melted butter. Divide among 4 mini springform pans lined with parchment paper and pat with your fingers until evenly distributed. Bake 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 300F.
In a large bowl, with the stand mixer or hand held one, mix the cream cheese and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Add the tonka bean or almond extract, and the lemon zest. Fold in the diced pineapple. Divide between the springform pans. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until they wiggle just a tiny bit in the middle. They will set more after an overnight trip in the fridge. When ready to serve, run a hot knife on the inside of the pan and release the cheesecakes.
For the caramelized pineapple: in a large saute pan, melt the sugar over medium high heat until it starts to get a nice amber tone, add the butter, whisk to incorporate and add the pineapple slices. Let them cook 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place them on top of the cheesecakes. Use the pan sauce to serve with the cheesecakes if desired.

Strawberry Lime Tartelettes And A New Boyfriend

20.02.2008 55 Comments

Remember a while back when I was going to give Pierre Herme some rest because I was all busy with another man? Well, meet my new boyfriend Christophe Michalak. Edible wouldn’t you say? Well, like a new boyfriend he is giving me "du fil a retordre"… Yep, he is giving me a hard time. Not that he is playing the three day rule without any phone call, but rather the three time recipe rule I have in the kitchen. You know the kind of boyfriend I am talking about. He looks good, presents well, he is popular, funny. You are attracted by a certain mysterious quality. The first date leaves you confident that there could be something there and subsequent ones leave you with a strange feeling, you don’t know "sur quel pied danser" (which foot to dance with). By the third date you are either giving up on the guy or you are pestered enough that you want to "break the code", get inside his head one more time because he is too darn genius for you to give up. Well, Christophe you make it very hard for me to like you!

Basically, when I pick up a new cookbook and try something from it, if it tastes yuck or fails after three times, I dump it or send it back. His marshmallow recipe left me confused just like after a first date…I was happy to try an egg white based recipe but decided after the first fiasco to stick to my trusted one. Don’t believe me? You should have a conversation with my mother when I handed her the KA bowl and beaters all glued with hot sugar syrup, egg whites and gelatin. Puzzled again when I tried his almond dough recipe which calls for one egg, then in the directions it reads "add the eggs"…"Hey honey! I have my glasses over my nose right?", then the pictures show what looks like a few egg yolks…Hmmm "Hey Michel, did you really proof-read your book?". I was starting to wonder if I was suffering from pastry amnesia.

Yes you look mysterious, mischievious and cute but Christophe your recipe and the book writing has me completely frustrated and mad…at you! I get that you are the World Champion of Pastry, I get that you are in charge of a prestigious pastry kitchen and I can understand the ego boost of publishing your favorite and gorgeously executed and photographed recipes. Oh yes, the book is a true feast for the eyes, however it is not written for the novice baker. You have to constantly read between the lines and think three step ahead…not a problem I am used to it…with recipes that are chemistry coherent.

I foresee a love and hate relationship with Christophe…not the cozy and fuzzy feelings that Pierre Herme or Richard Leach bring me when I settle on the couch with their creations. I love the concept of the book: one master recipe -5 variations. I fell in love with his tartelettes concept and was really excited to get going: his crust base is a 2 part almond short dough filled with frangipane (almond cream), after that the variations can be created. With experience you can read between the lines, but I hate that others might have difficulty doing so…and that would still be ok if the writing -recipes-pictures of step by step were all coherent. I don’t always bake from cookbooks, but new approaches, new methods, new chefs, not to mention pretty pictures always give me inspiration to make a recipe my own according to my palate and the practicality of a home kitchen.

In that regard, I am sure you won’t mind that I have reworked the recipe that inspired these Strawberry Lime Tartelettes. For example, instead of a pistachio paste in the whipped cream, I made a simple lime curd. Although you can’t tell from the pictures but half the tarts had the strawberries rest on a small pool of lime curd while the others on strawberry jam (pictures). While both versions were excellent, they were also very different. The recipe called for mascarpone which I kept but you could easily substitute cream cheese, ricotta cheese or a fresh young goat cheese. The recipe is on the format of the ones I am fond of: multi-step, yes, but which allow you to make the elements over a couple of days, at your own leisure and assembled at the last minute for maximum freshness. Very nice option when you are making 40 like I did, but also when you have guests over for dinner as fresh is always best with berries. Stay tuned for further installments of my nights with Christophe!

We love them so much that I am sending them off to Rachel who is hosting this month Sugar High Friday – Pie That Evoke Your Dreams (and for a good cause: read at the end of this post)These Strawberry Lime Tartelettes evoked dreams of spring, fuzzy cuddles on the couch and beautiful easy going relationships…like strawberries and lime.

Strawberry Lime Tartelettes.
Makes 8

Tartelettes Elements:
Almond Short Dough
Almond Cream
Lime Curd Whipped Cream
2-3 cups fresh hulled strawberries, cut in half
3/4 cup strawberry jam

For the Almond Short Dough:
190 gr. flour
20 gr. cornstarch (makes for a lighter crumb)
90 gr. powdered sugar
130 gr. butter
35 gr. almond powder
pinch of salt
1 egg

Special equipment: 8 pastry rounds 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch tall (available here)

Sift the flour with the cornstarch, powdered sugar. Add the almond powder and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until you get small coarse crumbs. Add the egg and the salt. Mix with your hands until just combined. Roll into a ball onto a plastic sheet, cover with another plastic sheet and flatten to a smal disk. Refrigerate one hour or overnight. You can do the whole thing in a food processor. When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between the sheets of plastic. You will need half the amount of dough to make the tartelettes. The other half can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen, well wrapped for up to 3 months.
Cut out rounds with a 3 inch pastry ring. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

For the Almond Cream:
100 gr. butter softened
100 gr. sugar
100 gr. almond powder
2 eggs
5 cl heavy cream

Place the butter, sugar, almond powder and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor). Add the cream but stir in it instead of whisking so as not to emulsify it or it will rise while baking. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Place 8 baked rounds of dough in 8 pastry rings, divide the cream evenly among the rings and bake 20 minutes at 350F. Let cool.

For the Lime Curd Whipped Cream:
grated zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup strained lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
200 gr. mascarpone, softened
2000 gr. (20cl)heavy cream

Combine the zest, sugar, juice in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, beat the egg until light. Beat some of the lime mixture into the eggs to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly until it thickens up, about 5 minutes. Remove the curd from the heat, let cool completely.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the mascarpone and cooled lime curd until incorporated, add the heavy cream and whisk until firm and medium stiff peaks form.

To assemble the tartelettes:
Divide the jam evenly over the bottom of each tart crust, arrange the strawberry halves decoratively on top.With a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe the whipped cream in the middle and decorate with grated lime zest if desired.

Printable version of the recipe here.

Check Rachel’s site for the round up on the 29th. In the meantime, if this sounds delicious, make a contribution to a non-profit helping to transform the world of food through pie- Pie Ranch. Please specify "Pie Ranch/Green Oaks Fund” in the "Designation" field of the online donation form (Pie Ranch is fiscally sponsored by the Rudolph Steiner Foundation) here.