Culinary Discussion, We could call it our House of Earthly Delights... Options

[Thomas Kaira]

...but that would be naughty, now, wouldn't it?

This is a thread for any food-related discussion. Found a nice recipe? Please share it! Is there any particular cultural cuisine you wish to discuss? Perhaps you need some help with us pesky Yanks still not adopting the metric system?

I thought our forums were missing something in the way of real down-to-earth discussion and sharing of our culinary experiences. Sure, we see them a lot in Fan-fics, but we never really get to dig into them (bad pun intended) in the same way as actually discussing this world-within-our-world can. I am seeing more and more food segments in the fan-fics that I read, so I think the time has come for us to have an honest-to-goodness culinary discussion thread.

To kick things off, I would like to share a recipe of my own concoction... Veal Osso Bucco, a Northern Italian classic.

Veal Osso Bucco & Sauce Accompaniment

Yield: 4 Portions

Ingredients
Veal Shank w/ marrow bone: 1lb
AP Flour: As Needed
Olive Oil: 2Tbsp
Butter, Clarified: 2Tbsp
Mirepoix, Standard Ratio: 1Lb
Garlic Clove: 2Ea
Red Wine: 1/2Cup
Tomatoes: 12oz
Veal Stock: 1qt
Lemon Zest: 1Tbsp
S&P: TT
Marjoram: 1tsp
*Gremolata: 1oz
-Gremolata
-Parsley: 3tsp
-Lemon Zest: 1tsp
-Garlic Clove: 1Ea

Mise en Place
-Clean, Sanitize workspace
-Gather utensils, pots, pans
-Gather ingredients
-Small Dice Mirepoix, Tomatoes
-Zest Lemons
-Mince Garlic
-Fine-Chop Parsley

Method
1. Preheat Oven 350*, add Oil, Butter to heated pot.
2. Season, brown Veal.
3. Remove Veal, add Mirepoix, Garlic, sweat.
4. Deglaze pot, Red Wine.
5. Add Tomatoes, Veal Stock, bring to simmer.
6. Return Beef to pot, add Lemon Zest, place in oven.
7. Braise, 3 to 4 hours, or until tender.
8. Remove Veal, degrease sauce
9. Reduce Sauce; thicken as needed, strain.
10. Rub Veal w/ Gremolata, return to sauce to reheat.
11. Finish w/ fresh Marjoram.
12. Garnish with Gremolata on the marrow bone.

Believe me, don't skip the marrow bone, it's really that important to this dish.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Feb 13 2011, 07:43 PM

[Thomas Kaira]

Make your own eclairs!

Eclairs are composed of three components: the shell is made from a dough called Pate au Choux, which is a dough specifically for eclairs. The filling is Pastry Cream, and the icing on top is called Ganache.

Yield: About 8 to 10 eclairs.

Pate au Choux:

Water/Milk: 8oz
Butter: 4oz
---
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Flour (AP): 6oz
---
Eggs: 10oz

1. Bring your liquid to a boil on the stovetop. Sift flour and salt to mix and remove lumps. Preheat oven to 375*F
2. When liquid begins boiling, add butter, and let melt fully.
3. Add flour and salt after butter has melted, stir until the paste pulls away from the sides of the pot easily.
4. Remove dough from pot and place into mixer. Mix for about 2 minutes as is to remove excess heat.
5. Gradually add in eggs about a quarter at a time. Allow previous eggs to incorporate fully before adding more. Continue until batter is pipeable (will be pasty, not quite doughy, yet not quite batter-y). You may not need to add all the eggs to achieve this.
6. Using an open-star or closed-star tip, pipe the mix onto ungreased parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for approximately one hour.
7. Allow to cool before filling.

Pastry Cream:

Milk: 2 lb (one quart)
Sugar 1: 4oz
---
Egg Yolks: 3oz (about 5)
Corn Starch: 2+1/4oz
Whole eggs: 4oz (about 2)
Sugar 2: 4oz
---
Butter: 2oz
Vanilla Extract: 1 T

1. Dissolve sugar 1 into milk. sift corn starch and sugar 2 together. Whisk egg product together, and add sugar + corn starch, whisk until smooth.
2. Bring milk to boil in a saucepan on the stovetop.
3. Remove milk from heat, slowly add in half the hot milk to your egg mix, whisking constantly. Once half the milk is in the eggs, pour the bowl's entire contents back into the saucepan and whisk together.
4. Return pot to heat and whisk until cream thickens. It should look like yogurt and cling to the whisk if you scoop it out. Whisk constantly to avoid lumps forming.
5. Immediately transfer cream to a cold metal bowl in ice bath (strain it if lumps formed). Continue whisking in the ice bath to help dissipate the heat.
6. Once cooled sufficiently, transfer to refrigerator and chill until below 40*F before use.

Ganache:

Heavy Cream: 9oz
Chocolate (semi-sweet): 9oz
---
Butter: 1+1/2oz
Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp

1. Bring cream to boil on stovetop.
2. When cream boils, pour over chopped chocolate and slowly stir with spatula until chocolate is fully melted.
3. Add butter and vanilla, stir until butter is melted.
4. Use immediately, reheat over double-boiler if needed, but don't do this too often or ganache will become grainy.

Using those three components, here's how to make the eclairs:

1. Cut baked eclair shells in half horizontally, giving you a top half and bottom half. Or poke holes on either side of the shell if you wish to pipe your filling.
2a. If cut, spoon pastry cream into bottom half, dip top half into ganache. Sandwich on top of each other and garnish with shaved chocolate if desired.
2b. If piping, use your pastry injector tip (very long with slanted opening similar to a hypodermic needle) and pipe half from one side, and half on the other. When you see filling being pushed out, stop, the shell is full. Dip in ganache, then garnish with shaved chocolate if desired.

[mALX]

Make your own eclairs!

Eclairs are composed of three components: the shell is made from a dough called Pate au Choux, which is a dough specifically for eclairs. The filling is Pastry Cream, and the icing on top is called Ganache.

Yield: About 8 to 10 eclairs.

Pate au Choux:

Water/Milk: 8oz
Butter: 4oz
---
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Flour (AP): 6oz
---
Eggs: 10oz

1. Bring your liquid to a boil on the stovetop. Sift flour and salt to mix and remove lumps. Preheat oven to 375*F
2. When liquid begins boiling, add butter, and let melt fully.
3. Add flour and salt after butter has melted, stir until the paste pulls away from the sides of the pot easily.
4. Remove dough from pot and place into mixer. Mix for about 2 minutes as is to remove excess heat.
5. Gradually add in eggs about a quarter at a time. Allow previous eggs to incorporate fully before adding more. Continue until batter is pipeable (will be pasty, not quite doughy, yet not quite batter-y). You may not need to add all the eggs to achieve this.
6. Using an open-star or closed-star tip, pipe the mix onto ungreased parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for approximately one hour.
7. Allow to cool before filling.

Pastry Cream:

Milk: 2 lb (one quart)
Sugar 1: 4oz
---
Egg Yolks: 3oz (about 5)
Corn Starch: 2+1/4oz
Whole eggs: 4oz (about 2)
Sugar 2: 4oz
---
Butter: 2oz
Vanilla Extract: 1 T

1. Dissolve sugar 1 into milk. sift corn starch and sugar 2 together. Whisk egg product together, and add sugar + corn starch, whisk until smooth.
2. Bring milk to boil in a saucepan on the stovetop.
3. Remove milk from heat, slowly add in half the hot milk to your egg mix, whisking constantly. Once half the milk is in the eggs, pour the bowl's entire contents back into the saucepan and whisk together.
4. Return pot to heat and whisk until cream thickens. It should look like yogurt and cling to the whisk if you scoop it out. Whisk constantly to avoid lumps forming.
5. Immediately transfer cream to a cold metal bowl in ice bath (strain it if lumps formed). Continue whisking in the ice bath to help dissipate the heat.
6. Once cooled sufficiently, transfer to refrigerator and chill until below 40*F before use.

Ganache:

Heavy Cream: 9oz
Chocolate (semi-sweet): 9oz
---
Butter: 1+1/2oz
Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp

1. Bring cream to boil on stovetop.
2. When cream boils, pour over chopped chocolate and slowly stir with spatula until chocolate is fully melted.
3. Add butter and vanilla, stir until butter is melted.
4. Use immediately, reheat over double-boiler if needed, but don't do this too often or ganache will become grainy.

Using those three components, here's how to make the eclairs:

1. Cut baked eclair shells in half horizontally, giving you a top half and bottom half. Or poke holes on either side of the shell if you wish to pipe your filling.
2a. If cut, spoon pastry cream into bottom half, dip top half into ganache. Sandwich on top of each other and garnish with shaved chocolate if desired.
2b. If piping, use your pastry injector tip (very long with slanted opening similar to a hypodermic needle) and pipe half from one side, and half on the other. When you see filling being pushed out, stop, the shell is full. Dip in ganache, then garnish with shaved chocolate if desired.

My absolute favorite dessert - with the Bavarian cream in the center !!