Celerie gratiné - Publish

Celery isn't one of my go-to vegetables. I usually only need a stalk or two and then it sits in refrigerator until it turns into a putrid liquid. Not really. Well, maybe once. Anyway, this recipe is a great way of using up the rest of the celery before it transforms. I made this twice and the salt ratio seems to work. Attempt no.3 required to confirm the test phase is over.

1 bunch celery, including leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup chopped chives or 3 chopped scallions
2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1. In a skillet combine the celery and salt. Add water just enough to cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is completely gone. The celery should be  totally cooked. Dump into a plate and set aside.
2. In the hot skillet, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour, nutmeg and pepper, whisking until it starts to turn brown. Add the milk and whisk until it's smooth, then add the celery and cook until the sauce becomes creamy and thick. Taste and season with salt.
3. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, chives and parsley. At this point, either leave the celery mix in the skillet or dump it into a gratin dish or casserole. Sprinkle the cheesy breadcrumbs on top.
4. Set the oven to broil. Put the dish in the oven and broil until the top is golden.

Testing - Vert-Vert Cake

One of the first posts on this blog, I think, I was excited about a cookbook called Monet's Table, containing recipes from Giverny. I've made a few, and even fewer actually work like they're supposed to. I think this recipe is the worst one. I scoured the Internet to find someone who successfully made it to no avail; all the comments I found complained that it came out as hard as a puck. It makes sense to me that there may have been details which were second nature to Alice Hoschedé that may not have been written in her notes, and not improved upon by the publishers of this book. I caved and used baking powder to save my ingredients, and it tasted nice, but I wasn't satisfied! The following is my attempt at creating an authentic-seeming version, trying to guess the parts that were missed in the book. I'm purposely omitting baking powder and soda, trying to imitate an authentic French cake recipe. Now I wonder if it isn't just a flavoured sponge cake...

To Make the Sponge:

NOTE: try adding more pistachio and bigger chunks of it.

4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour, sifted
2 Tbsp ground pistachio
4 Tbsp kirsch
2 Tbsp butter, melted
Grated rind of 1 lemon

1. Heat the oven to 350ºF. Cut a circle of parchment paper and line the bottom of a spring-form pan; butter and flour the pan.
2. Grind the pistachios to make the flour (in a food processor or if you're hardcore, in a mortar and pestle).
3. In a mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/2 of the sugar and continue whipping until stiff and glossy, about 30 secs more. Transfer to another mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Over a a bain-marie (if you don't have a specialty pot for this, use a bowl over a pot of simmering water, without letting the bowl touch the water), whisk the yolks and sugar until they have tripled in volume and become thick, pale and ribbony. Take the yolk mixture off the heat and pour into a mixer bowl. 
5. Over the yolk mixture scatter the pistachio flour, along with the kirsch and butter. Very slowly, sprinkle in the flour and lemon rind until just combined, then whisk super fast for 20-30 seconds.
6. Stir a spoonful of the egg whites into the yolk batter to loosen it, then very gently fold in the remainder. Pour into a spring-form pan.
7. Bake in the oven about 30-40 minutes.

Sources for the Sponge:

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/walnut-cake/9044/

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/strawberries-and-cream-sponge-cake/12679/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/lemon-sponge-cake-with-glazed-strawberries-recipe.html

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/bakingdesserts/r/Sponge-Cake.htm

Pistachio Cream - This is a variation of my pastry cream recipe.

NOTE - try increasing the amount of pistachio flour.

1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup pistachio flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp kirsch

Put the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring just to a boil and set aside to cool.
Beat the yolks with the sugar until pale. Beat in the flour and pistachio flour. Pull the vanilla bean from the milk and whisk the milk gradually into the egg mixture. Pour back into the saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook one minute. Remove from the heat. Strain into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to cool.
When chilled, stream the cream and kirsch in and mix with whisk until smooth.

Source for the Pistachio Icing?
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/almond-meringue-cake-with-peaches.html

Icing - this is totally not the icing in the recipe. It will come, but in the meantime I've made this really great lemon icing!

1 cup softened salted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
The grated rind of one lemon
The juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups icing sugar, sifted after measuring

Beat the butter until creamy (almost white).
With the beaters going slowly, add the vanilla, the lemon rind and the lemon juice; beat until very smooth.
Add the icing sugar.
Beat on high until smooth and pale, almost white.

Testing - Curried Zucchini and Swiss Chard - PUBLISHED

1 - OK, I may have gone overboard on the instructions. Honestly, this is a super easy recipe, deceptively flavorful and satisfying. The success of the dish hinges on how the zucchini is prepared. It needs to be in paper-thin slices, and cooked enough to be tender but not cooked enough so that it turns to mush. I've tended to undercook it, but the few times I've managed to get the right amount of doneness, the zucchini becomes buttery and flavorful with a bit of an al-dente bite to it.

2 - After years (this is 2021) since I last made this, I finally grow my own garden again and have loads of veg to cook with. Hooray. And the instructions are confusing! I little streamlining. However, it was delicious. The timing I provide though is really useful. The trick really is to keep the squash just underdone.

Serves 2 lumberjacks and 4 delicate ladies

1 cup basmati rice

1 bunch of swiss chard (16oz)
2 medium zucchini, very thinly sliced (10-12 oz)
a fistful of fresh chives (equivalent to 3 green onions), minced
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1+1 Tbsp butter
1+12 Tbsp mild oil
Salt and pepper, to taste.
a squeeze of lemon

1. Start cooking the basmati rice (put dry rice in a hot saucepan, dry roast about 5 minutes stirring often, add 2 cups + a splash of water and a pinch of salt, cook about 20 minutes).
2. Remove the stems and the large center veins of the Swiss chard. Slice the stems very thin and keep separate. Fold the leaves together and slice very thin and set aside.
3. In a large sauté pan heat half the butter and oil over medium-to-low heat. Add the thinly sliced stems and sauté about 4-5 minutes, until starting to go tender. 
4. Add the chives and cook about 1 minute more. Gradually add the leaf strips a handful at-a-time and cook until tender (about 4-5 minutes more). Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
5. In the hot pan, melt the remaining butter and oil. Add the curry powder and warm it through to bring out its flavor, about 1 minute or until it becomes very fragrant.
6. Add the zucchini and sauté for about 3-5 minutes (the thinner they are, the faster they'll cook). Essentially, stop when they're all covered with the curry but still have a bit of bite. If you let it cook too long they'll turn to mush. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Your rice should be ready now. On a platter, spread the rice, arrange the chard on top, and top the chard with the zucchini. Apply a generous squeeze of lemon on top.

Testing - Oeufs en cocotte

My sister very thoughtfully sent me a list of Julia Child's favourite recipes, and this was one of them. When I described it to Ben he was doubtful that it would be any good, but kept it to himself. When he ate it, he wolfed it down and was honestly shocked at how good this simple dish was. We've been having it at least once every weekend, ever since.

NOTE: my challenge is to find the ideal temperature to cook the eggs so that they are soft, yet cooked.

1 cup + 1 Tbsp crème fraîche
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tsp packed fresh herb, minced (dill is excellent and classic, thyme or basil is good)
4 eggs

1. Lightly butter 4 ramekins.
2. Fill half-way with water an oven-proof dish such as a lasagna dish and put in the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
3. Mix together the crème fraîche, salt, pepper and fresh herb.
4. Divide the creamy mix in half and divide the first half evenly between the four ramekins. Crack an egg into each ramekin so that it rests on top of the cream.
5. Pop each ramekin into the hot water dish in the oven. They should be evenly spaced and not touching each other.
6. Bake for about 11 minutes.
7. Take out of the oven and immediately remove from the hot water bath or the eggs will continue to cook.
8. Serve with toast cut into strips.