Macaroons

When I quickly glanced earlier this month and saw that Macaroons were on the agenda..... I said 'Yum...nothing wrong with that' . Some time after, I purchased a big bag of coconut in anticipation of the challenge. A little after that, I sat down to read through the instructions and discovered that the recipe this month was actually for French Macaroons which contain no coconut, but instead contain powdered almonds. After looking at the photos as well, it dawned on me that I had just seen these pretty little cookies on someones blog just a few weeks ago in beautiful tinted shades filled with delicious looking filling. Now I wish I could just find that blog again. Oh well, I'm sure in a few days I'll find it again. Well, now I am really intrigued to try these cookies which according to the ingredients seem to be a version of an Italian wedding cookie or Ameretti cookie a little more leaning towards the meringue though. Since I love almond flavours and especially Ameretti cookies (it's the best part of an Italian wedding in my books) I was very much looking forward to this challenge, I was not disappointed......not at all:)

Without more delay......The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. Have a look here to view other challenge results......and yes that is a new cup and saucer.....I realize I have a problem:(
My attempts yielded some experimental mishaps and unintentional snacks as I figured out the proper size and spacing required for the given baking times. The time required until beginning to become golden was a little more difficult to judge as I had added cocoa and vanilla bean sugar to the batter. A quick filling with some milk chocolate ganache and they were complete. In the end it was not as time consuming as I has thought it would be, but for the next go around, will definitely get the proper size piping tip and go with parchment over silpat. After several batches....some of which had a bit of sticking issues, I discovered that it was the undercooked batch that stuck, and that the silpat offered no real advantage over the parchment in this application. I eventually did learn to identify the slight browning called for as a signal that they were done....and at this point in baking....no sticking issues. After all that trial and error...and eating my mistakes....I can say that I enjoyed each and every degree of doneness.....whether over or under baked....and with all the limitless flavouring options....I will most certainly be trying these again. Next time I may look for the almond flour rather than processing my own as it might just give them more height. The recipe that follows is quite simple and really worth giving a try!

Macaroons

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t over fold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

The Vintage Teacup and the Texas Sheet Cake

Things have been busy...yes they have. But not so busy that there is no time for Ebay, Etsy, and baking. Yesterday I got a sweet package in the mail. It was a lovely cup and saucer I purchased to give to a friend. This friend likes black cup and saucer sets and when I spied this one on Ebay I knew it would be perfect for her. And if it isn't....then it's perfect for me. There is always a moment of trepidation when you unwrap china that has come by post. You have to hope that the seller has truly inspected the item for damage before shipping, and that Canada Post has not dropped the item 16 times on the way to the door. As I pulled the cup from it's bubble wrap coat, and gave the edge a little tap.......it made a beautiful pinging sound telling me that it was perfectly fine. Sadly the saucer made a dull thud when I tapped it..... Well.....I spent the better part of 30 minutes trying to find the crack that I knew must be there.......and eventually I found it. The seller refunded me 50% of the sale price of the set....and none of the shipping. I'm not certain how I am supposed to feel about that, as I would not have bought the item if it was described as having a crack.....but from the sellers perspective, he is taking my word that the crack exists, and it is better than nothing. Now I have another set to add to my damaged collection which is good for kids tea parties at least.......or it could become a pin cushion like this one:) I really wish sellers would take the second it takes to ping their china before wrapping it up to send. It would save everyone a lot of grief:(

As I mentioned, I also made time for some baking as well. I had received a recipe from a recipe swap that I wanted to give a try and last night was the night. I found it to be an interesting method, and really liked the cake it produced. Very moist and fairly dense cake. Very delicious with a glass of cold milk or a cup of hot tea.....or even coffee if that's your thing. Give it a try....I think you'll like it!

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda

Sift all the above together and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan place:
1 cup water
1 cup butter or margarine

Bring water and butter to a boil and remove from heat. Add the sifted flour mixture to the pot and stir well.

Add to the pot:
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour cream
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat thoroughly and bake in a greased sheet cake pan (10" X 15") for about 25 minutes at 350 F. (Until toothpick in center comes out clean)


Icing

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup cocoa
6 tbsp cream or milk

Heat above icing ingredients in a saucepan to simmer. Remove from heat and add 1 lb of icing sugar (confectioners sugar or powdered sugar). Beat smooth with mixer. Spread on hot cake and sprinkle with 3/4-1 cup crushed pecans if you like. My husband won't eat them so I didn't put them on...but I would like them I think.

Mom & Dad Make Sauerkraut

The fall is one of my very favourite times of the year for many reasons.........................and one of those reasons is Sauerkraut. Mom and dad were busy making a big batch which they will freeze up in margarine containers or freezer bags to put up Sauerkraut for the year to come. Home made Sauerkraut has to be one of the very easiest things to make so it should not intimidate you at all. And if you like Sauerkraut................home made is miles and miles better that anything you'll find in the grocery store. I'm looking very forward to a few bags of Mom and Dad's best.......making it out this way on Dad's visit next month. There always seems to be food in dad's suitcase on every visit. It must be a mom thing:)

Very few simple ingredients make it nice and easy and of course it's nice to have someone to help and make it. Having a proper slicer makes the work a little quicker.....but it isn't absolutely necessary.

Once the cabbage and onion are grated, it's a simple process to layer them up the crock with some salt and seasonings. Give it a little pressing and continue on.

Once you've finished you'll need a small plate and a heavy weight to keep it all submerged. Then it needs to rest and work its magic. See....easy as Sauerkraut........which is much much easier than pie:) If you'd like to give it a try you can try the recipe below which was graciously provided by mom and dad. Once this is done, it makes a fabulously easy meal baked in the oven with pork chops or sausages buried in Sauerkraut.....Yum! Thanks for the recipe MOM!

Mom's Sauerkraut

1 4 gallon crock, rinsed carefully in warm water and dried, must be clear of any soap residue
1 sturdy glass pint or preserving jar for pressing kraut
10 lbs mature, firm cabbage (winter or summer) fine shred (about 8 med solid heads)
8 medium size cooking onions, fine slice
1/2 cup coarse pickling salt
2 tablespoons pickling spice in cheese cloth pouch, prep, set aside
2 tablespoons whole allspice in cheese cloth pouch, prep, set aside
3 whole bay leaves, interspersed through crock

Method:

Choose mature, firm heads of cabbage. Remove two/three outer layer of leaves down to a clean cabbage head. Quarter cabbages and cut out core. Shred cabbage finely on a large old style grater (see photo) or put through processor if you have the kitchenaid (fine) shredding disc. This disc is a separate purchase and does not come with the appliance. You will be shredding cabbage intermittently as you layer it in the crock.
Fine slice the onions, set aside on a tray.

Begin by putting down a 3 inch layer of shredded cabbage. Place both pouches of pickling spice and whole allspice on top. Sprinkle sliced onion, add a three inch layer of cabbage, sprinkle a tablespoon of salt over top, then apply pressure and twist the bottom of your jar on the cabbage to create moisture (see photo) you will see the cabbage is moist on the surface.

Repeat this process with sliced onion, another 3 inch layer shredded cabbage, 1 tablespoon coarse salt, and then firm pressure on the cabbage, push and twist the bottom of the jar. You may have about 7 to 8 layers which should end at about 4 inches from the top of the crock. (be careful with the salt as it has to last through all layers. Lay the bay leaves randomly at different levels as you fill the crock.

When crock has been filled, invert a heavy plate over the cabbage and fill and cap a gallon glass jar with water to be placed over the plate. Cover with a clean tea towel over top. The water jar will hold the cabbage down and allow the fermentation process to release water up and over the cabbage. For safety, place the crock into a large tray to catch any spill (which is not too likely). The water may climb close to 1 inch from the top but at this point will begin to recede down slowly until you do not see liquid from the top at all. The crock should be kept in a room at about 60 degrees F. or even a few degrees lower. At a higher temperature the sauerkraut will ferment sooner, but the quality will be inferior.

During the fermentation process, residue will form on the surface for the first week. It should be removed with a clean spoon every other day as needed. Gradually there will be less and less residue. The cabbage will require 2 to 4 weeks for fermentation depending on room temp. When fermentation has ceased (approx 3 weeks) you will notice that the liquid has descended down below the cabbage. This sauerkraut can now be consumed. Even though it is very fresh, it makes a nice side salad with a few drops of oil and a splash of vinegar.
To store simply fill a plastic container (e.g. clean margarine container) fit securely with lid, label the year and keep in the freezer. Stored this way, they have have kept very well for four years without any appearance of freezer burn.

Hint: when using one container from this batch, place it in the saucepan, cover kraut with water and bring to a boil. Drain off this water which will remove any excess salt and it is ready for preparing a meal.

As sauerkraut is so complementing to pork, you can brown up a few fresh pork chops or some smoked spareribs, lay the meat singly over oblong bake ware, spread the sauerkraut over the top of the meat, sprinkle two/three tablespoon water over, cover with foil. Bake 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. till fork tender. This is delicious comfort food along with some crusty fresh bread. I can almost taste it as this was a family favourite as a child growing up.

Note:
Also forgot to mention that a tried and true tradition in the Ukraine is to put about 7 whole apples randomly through out the layering. I wish I had remembered in time. Maybe I can sneak a couple carefully in. The apples pick up amazing flavour and are used as a side with the sauerkraut meal. I neglected to do this. I remembered as an after thought.