Final post of 2009

All I have to say is that I'm one exhausted puppy and still have three small caters to go...

After my last job tomorrow, we'll be taking a weekend away at a spa and consuming massive quantities of wine! Have a happy New Years everyone and see you in 2010.

Yule Log Demo Finale

My logs sold out faster than I could decorate them but I snapped a few quick pics to give you one idea for finishing work. Last year I stayed contemporary by doing a poured mirror glaze. This year, I wanted a contemporary inside but a more traditional outside. I started by added a cut limb.

To do this, simply take a molded cylinder of the mousse, freeze it, and then cut it in half on bias (angle).

Next, press it into the side of your log. On one of my loaf formed logs, I placed it on top.

You can sort of see the log coming together now. One more step. I could have used more mousse here, but I wanted another textural element so I made a cinnamon butter cream.

50 g Dark chocolate, melted and brought to room temp
1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Water
12 Egg yolks
1 Pound butter, room temp
1 T. Cinnamon

Boil sugar and water to 242ºF. While bring the syrup to temp, place yolks in mixer and mix on low for just a few seconds to break up. When the syrup hits temp, carefully pour it down the sides of the mixer bowl with the mixer on low. Slowly bring the mixer up in speed until you get to high when you can let it run for 5-10 minutes. Feel the bottom of your bowl, when it is no longer hot, and has come to room temp, you're done.

My kitchen tends to run a little cold so whenver I make butter cream I also have a heat gun ready. I start by warming the bottom of the mixer bowl - not enough to cook the eggs on the inside, but enough that I feel the warmth. Then right before I pour the syrup I hit the inside of the bowl with the heat gun for about 30 seconds. The idea is that if your eggs or bowl are too cold the syrup will form a big lump and ruin the butter cream. I have had a large lump form before where I just keep the heat gun going and the speed on low until the lump finally dissolves. It may not be perfect, but it works. Similarly, I have placed my bowl upside down under a very hot tap water for five minutes prior to using it and that helps.

When the eggs and syrup get to room temp, sprinkle in the cinnamon and pour in the chocolate, and then on med-low speed add the butter a tablespoon at a time. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, run the mixer on high for another minute to really fluff it up.

I used the Ateco #48 to pipe the butter cream. I like it because it would give me a lot of little ridges and it would cover space quickly. Don't be too methodical about this - tree bark is not very uniform. I always suggest people go look at a tree before doing this step so they can see how bark forms around branches and such. Finally, I made a royal icing (1 C. powdered sugar and about 1/3 of one egg white) and piped snow onto the branches. Oddly enough we had 6" of snow yesterday which hasn't happened in three years. The royal icing is more than your chance to hide the flaws (which I don't worry too much about - remember my previous musings about customers not buying perfectly finished pastries). It is also your chance to provide some definition. These defining lines are what look like straight lines in the picture - think about snow being blown on a cold windy night and sticking on the ridges of the bark.

My last step is to use my finger to push down any edges that I just don't like and make any misaligned icesickles hang a little more straight. The cut stumps get a twirled fork for faux grain and then this project is done for another year.

I love making these because I know that they will bring lots of joy to the families who buy them, moreso than most pastries. They're not hard and contrary to the number of recipes, really do only take about 90 minutes of hands-on time.
(HERE is last year's demo)

Yule Log Demo

I assume most people are used to Yule Logs that are essentially jelly rolls with buttercream. That's not really my thing. I prefer the more contemporary logs that have multiple tastes and textures. And even though we're just a few days til Christmas, you can still do this log - and even though the recipes are long, this can be done with just a couple hours of work.

I like to use just about any filling that I've enjoyed over the past year. For this log, I've really liked Pierre Hermé's flourless chocolate disk sprinkled with turbinado sugar, as well as his chocolate mousse. I also like Lebovitz's chocolate shortbread. Any old creme brulée (less the brulée) will do for a texture and strong vanilla taste. I also had some scrap genoise laying around so we'll soak that with some rum syrup. But, pick your own elements - just think about texture, taste and also time since you're running out of it.

The most time urgent is a creme brulée because we want to bake, cool, set and then freeze this element. Alton Brown's recipe will do just fine:

1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (I used 1 T. vanilla paste)
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
6 large egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use. If you use the vanilla paste then you won't need to steep.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the warm/hot cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 9x13 pan lined well with saran wrap. Place the 9x13 into a jelly roll or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come a bit up the sides of the 9x13. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 60 to 75 minutes. At altitude, this took me about 2 hours. Remove the 9x13, cover with saran so a skin doesn't form, then chill in the fridge until set.

Its time for your big decision! What size log do you want to make. A terrine pan is great, a 4" PVC pipe is even better, but a loaf pan will do too. Figure out the length of your pan - for the sake of example, let's say its an 8x4 loaf pan. Your internal elements will be 7"x3".

Take the chilled creme and cut it into strips that are 7x3. No need to separate them, just re-cover with saran and freeze. Here is what mine looked like:

Next, I want a crunchy element but I don't want to add any more sweetness than I already have. I will temper dark chocolate and add crunch. For that crunch you can use rice krispies but I made gavottes (lace crepes) because they're fast and flat.

1/3 C. Milk
8 g (2/3 T) Butter unsalted
35 g (1/3 C) AP Flour
15 g (1 T) Egg, beaten
3.5 g (1 t) Sugar
Vegetable oil

Oven to 430ºF (220ºC). Heat the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter is completely melted. Sift the flour into the warmed milk whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Whisk in the egg and sugar. Thinly spread the batter over a baking sheet coated with a light coating of the oil - I warm my sheets in the oven for a few minutes first. Do your best to spread the batter evenly - it will not keep its shape...that's the lace. Bake until nicely browned - don't leave it pale or it won't be crisp. When they're done, cool to room temp and break up into small pieces.

The astute reader will say, "But Rob, I see pale pieces." And that astute reader would be correct...I didn't spread carefully enough. It'll work just fine, but I lose points.

Next, if you're comfortable tempering chocolate do it, if not, since this is a chilled dessert, we don't really need to temper. Whichever, melt a cup of chocolate, add the gavottes flakes and then spread very thinly on a silpat or parchment paper. If you tempered, just let it sit on the counter. If you didn't plop in the freezer to set. With both methods, once the chocolate is firm but not hard, use a pizza cutter to cut into your finished size (7x3 in our example). Let continue to harden.

For those of you who are freaking out already, know that we've spent less than 20 minutes at this point doing active kitchen work for the first two recipes. Moving on...

Lebovitz's chocolate shortbread recipe is a great little cookie, but it'll make an even better base. Your base needs to be the firmest element so it can hold up to the cutting, but it should also be delicate enough to be easily cut (that's why I picked a shortbread).

245 g (1 3/4 C) AP Flour
50 g (1/2 C) Dutch-processed cocoa
1/4 t Salt
230 g (2 sticks) Butter unsalted at room temp
125 g (1 1/4 C) Powdered sugar

Sift flour, cocoa and salt together. Cream the butter and sugar in mixer just until combined. Add the flour mixture and stop just when combined. Gently form dough into large flat rectangle on top of silpat or parchment. Take a second silpat and lay on top of dough, roll out until 1/8" thick (or a bit thicker). You can use a bit of flour on top if you need to but brush off excess before baking. Using the pizza cutter, cut your final size strips. Sprinkle with a good, large salt. I used French grey, but Kosher is fine too. This will add a bit of saltiness to this otherwise sweet dessert.

Freeze the dough for 15 minutes. Oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Bake 12-15 minutes until set but not hard. Cool and separate the rectangles.

We're only at about 45 minutes (less cleanup and baking time), so let's keep going! One more element - flourless chocolate disc:

115 g (4 oz) Dark chocolate
87 g (6 T) Unsalted butter, softened
142 g (1/2 C) Sugar
1 t. Dutch processed cocoa
2 L Egg yolks
1 L Egg
6 L Egg whites

Melt chocolate and cool to 114ºF. Cream butter, 3 T of sugar and the cocoa. Add the yolks and then the eggs. It will look gross at this point, but don't worry. Next add the melted chocolate and mix only until satiny. Don't overmix. In separate bowl, whip whites to soft peaks and add the remaining 5 T of sugar gradually. Whip until glossy and firm. Fold a quarter of the whites into the chocolate, then add the remaining whites until consistent. Spread on a silpat or parchment, sprinkle with turbinado sugar, and bake 350ºF for 25-30 minutes. Once out of the oven, cool, then cut into rectangles.

Are you sick of making things yet? Remember, you could have put anything in this - extra sugar cookie dough, gingerbread cake...whatever.

Line your pans with saran. You can see I use a variety of pans for options for my customers. I spritzed each with water to hold the saran in place better. The white pan is a PVC pipe that I snipped a base so the log will have a flat side. It works well and is a bit more traditional.

So, let's review. We've made creme brulée (minus the brulée), chocolate shortbread, gavottes with chocolate, flourless chocolate cake and we had some old sponge cake laying around.

We have one more recipe - the mousse.

1 3/4 C. Cream
1 T Cinnamon
2 Eggs, room temp
4 Egg yolks, room temp
10 oz Chocolate, chopped small - I used Cocoa Barry 64%
1/2 C. Sugar
3 T. Water

Whip cream to med-firm peaks adding the cinnamon near the end. Hold in cooler. In mixer whip eggs for a just a few seconds to break them up. Melt chocolate in microwave or stove top and allow to cool to 114ºF. In sauce pan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil until 257ºF (at altitude I only go to 255º). Carefully pour the sugar into the yolks with the mixer on low, then increase speed to high and whip for about 5 minutes or until pale and doubled. Fold a quarter of the cream into the chocolate, then combine the remaining cream. Very carefully fold in the egg mixture into the cream mixture. Put in piping bag.

In less than 90 minutes we've made everything. Get a kid to do your cleanup and then this really is no big deal. Its time for assembly. Squirt some mousse into the base. You don't need to be super neat until the mousse is your final finish. I'm going to do a few finishes, but the mousse with a mirror glaze is sexy as all get out.

And now we just start stacking. First the genoise. I added some sugar to rum and brushed that syrup onto the genoise. Press the genoise into the mousse to remove any air pockets.

A splat of mousse topped with the creme, more mousse, then the flourless disc, followed by more mousse.

The tempered chocolate strip, more mousse, and the shortbread.

The mousse in between layers should be thin. Think of it as glue. There will be plenty of mousse on the sides and top. Pipe the sides really well and give the edges a nice finish.

Cover with saran and freeze. Get caught up and we'll finish this tomorrow - I'm off to do mine right now!

Bon Bons (andadamagedspacebarkey)

My space bar is acting up and my attempted repair is not doing so well...so here's a quick picture 0f some chocolates I made for the store. I think I've got the temper process down pretty well. The fillings are raspberry cream and caramel with Murray River flake salt.


Tomorrow I will post a Yule Log demo.

I still exist

Like many of you, I'm buried under catering jobs and holiday baking. I'm going to get some Yule Logs done this week - traditional and contemporary, so I'll post a step-by-step for anyone interested before the 25th.

A Few Pics

Nothing earth shattering here, just some recent pics that I wanted to get out of my hold-folder.

An Armenian cookie with walnuts and cinnamon

I love Israeli cous cous

I love this pic: Fiori Salt from Ritrovo Fine Foods

My nocino is getting better by the day - this is from a couple of months ago when I pulled the stuff out of the hooch.

And I've been playing with pâte sablée for my big secret project (still looking for a partner in crime).

Royal Foodie Joust: Pear, Ginger & Fennel

This month's joust featured pear, ginger and fennel. Not too unusual, but unusual enough that I felt like I was doing one of the TGRWT events. Since I had been playing around with pithiviers I thought I would combine the two concepts. What I ended up with was a ginger pear filled pithivier with fennel infused butter puff pastry.

I used Jacques Torres' Quick Puff Pastry recipe, but any will do. I started by melting half of the recipe's butter in a sauce pan, sautéeing it with one cup of diced fennel. I let that sit for an hour covered to cool, then strained the fennel. I allowed the remaining butter to come to room temp, then in a mixer I creamed the infused and remaining butter until will combined, then chilled. I proceeded with the recipe as usual at this point.

Next take 4 pounds of crisp pears, peel them, cut them vertically in half, core them and then slice them 1/16" thick uniformly - I used a meat slicer. Butter a baking dish - preferably glass. Fan the pears over the entire surface, brush with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with dark muscovado sugar. Keep layering until all of your pears are used - I ended up with about six layers in this dish. Grate a fresh ginger on the top. Wrap the entire dish with two good coverings of saran wrap to make it airtight. Then poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape. Place the pan on a foil lined jelly roll pan. Throw it in an oven set to 175ºF and bake for 10-12 hours. Make sure that if your oven has an automatic shut off that you disable it - mine is called Sabbath Mode. What comes out is perfectly soft and moist pears that maintain their structure. (You'll note that this is exactly what I did a couple of days ago with apples.)

Finally, make an almond cream:
1 C. Almonds, processed into powder
1/3 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Butter, softened
1 Egg
1/4 C. AP Flour

Cream the butter, almonds and sugar until light in a mixer with whisk attachment. Add the egg and whisk for about 5 minutes or until doubled in bulk and very light. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour stopping when just combined.

Roll your puff to 1/16" and cut your first disk. Place a dollop of the almond cream topped with a spoonful of the pears. Brush the edges with an eggwash (1 egg, 2 yolks, 1 T water). Cut the second disk and place on top of the first sealing the edges. On the top, cut a vent in the center then carefully cut in decorative work if you want. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes. While its baking, combine 1/4 C. of corn syrup with 1 T. warm water. Brush the syrup mixture on top and return to oven for another 20 minutes or until the puff is a nice dark brown.

New Cheese: Ossau-Iraty

A brought in a small amount of this great cheese for our special cheese loving customers. From Wiki:
Ossau-Iraty is rather medium-soft light in color and very complex yet delicately smooth flavors. This cheese tastes slightly akin to cow's cheeses of similar texture such as alps cheese. Ossau-Iraty is complex and includes an edible slightly white-moldy tart rind which adds considerably to the experience. This is a creamy, not bitter, not overly sweet, perhaps slightly nutty cheese with a gentleness and ability to please. Finishes rich and smooth.

Recent Desserts

Here are a few recent desserts...stop me if I'm boring you.

Pierre Hermé's Mozart: Chocolate mousse with rum spiked apples sandwiched with cinnamon thin crust.

A simple cake for a Thanksgiving order: flourless chocolate discs, chocolate mousse, orange curd, mirror glaze and silver.

Chocolote Orange Explosion (aka using my leftovers): Chocolate mousse, orange curd, orange buttercream, candied peel, cacao nibs

Two tartlets: Drunken Cherry Orgasm Tart & Orange Curd with Almond Tart

Our anniversary cake: Amernick's pound cake, orange buttercream

This was supposed to make it into a dessert, but it was so good that I ate the whole bowl - Pierre Hermé's 24-hour Apples. Take 4 pounds of Granny Smith (or other firm, tart apples), peel them, cut them vertically in half, core them and then slice them 1/16" thick uniformly - I used a meat slicer. Butter a baking dish - preferably glass. Fan the apples over the entire surface, brush with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with sugar. He calls for white and next time I'll use palm sugar. Keep layering until all of your apples are used - I ended up with about six layers in this dish. Wrap the entire dish with two good coverings of saran wrap to make it airtight. Place the pan on a foil lined jelly roll pan.

Throw it in an oven set to 175ºF and bake for 10-12 hours. Make sure that if your oven has an automatic shut off that you disable it - mine is called Sabbath Mode. What comes out is perfectly soft and moist apples that maintain their structure. I was planning on making pithiviers filled with these but I'll have to start from scratch. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of these while warm would be diving!

Re-Offering: Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie

This is one of my most requested recipes, so I offer it here again just in time for holiday meals:
When Tyler and I met and he started bringing me home to his parent's house, it was a bit awkward. That very first time started with us sitting down to a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and some dessert. I don't think it was sugar cream pie, but it might have been since his family is where I learned about this fantastic decadence filled pie shell.

Before Tyler and I moved out West, we used to go to his parent's house every Sunday, where his mom would make a pot roast or chicken and dumplings (noodle style) or some other easy to prepare, Sunday-day-of-rest appropriate dinner. The meal would be followed with football or rodeo or other Sunday-day-of-rest appropriate TV show. We would NOT talk about politics or religion. No good could come from those conversations. But those were wonderful visits that I remember and miss.

To this day I'm not sure if anything beats a Wick's Sugar Cream Pie. Those things were addictive and worth gluttonous onslaughts. I would sneak a small sliver for myself before the rest was served so I could get two portions, and even then, I would cut a big piece for my real serving. They are good, and I am willing to say they are the best store bought pie I have ever had - and possibly better than any homemade sugar cream pie I have ever had. Yes - big claims!

But, there is no Wick's in New Mexico. In fact, not one single customer had heard of this type of pie when I sold them this year. They would ask what it was and I would just say in a very slow, deliberate manner, "They have sugar (pause) and cream (pause). That's about it."

Tyler asked his mom for her recipe, which was an evolution of her mom's recipe. I'll provide both below. Grandma Meeks' recipe calls for the cream, sugar and flour to be mixed together, poured in a pie shell and sprinkled with nutmeg. That's all. But, about one out of three pies wouldn't set up. The flour would settle near the bottom causing a runny pie - still, a very good runny pie.

So Tyler's mom tapped into more modern techniques. She added some half-n-half to the recipe for more moisture, then microwaved the mixture prior to pouring into the pan, to give the liquid a head start since it needs to come to a boil in order to set up. This is the pie I know and love.

But I'm a gourmet store owner. I sold Tyler's mom's version, and people loved it. But for our personal Thanksgiving, I wanted to add some flavor depth and complexity. Enter my evolution.

I had two thoughts. First, white sugar is pretty linear in its flavor profile. But, caramelizing that sugar would add the flavors I sought, and would not effect the structure. Second, I have access to palm sugar which is just the cow's meow. So here are the three recipes:

Grandma Meeks' Sugar Cream Pie
Oven to 425F
2 C. Heavy Cream
1/2 C. Sugar
5 T. Flour
Pinch of Salt

Combine all three ingredients, pour in unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn oven to 350F. Cook until set. Expect pie to boil over.

Margie Connor's Sugar Cream Pie
Oven to 425F
2 C. Heavy Cream
1/2 C. Half-n-Half
1/2 C. Sugar
5 T. Flour
Pinch of Salt

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl or large measuring cup. Microwave in one minute blasts on high until liquid becomes hot, but not boiling. Pour into baked pie shell. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 5-10 minutes, then lower to 350F. Bake until set.


My Sugar Cream Pie (Tyler called it a Dulce de Leche Pie)
2 C. Heavy Cream
1/2 C. Whole Milk
1/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Muscovado (or dark brown sugar)
4 T. Palm Sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)
5 T. Flour
Pinch of Salt

Put the three sugars in a small sauce pan with just a couple of tablespoons of the cream. Heat until melted and starting to caramelize. Don't take this much further than it starting to darken. On the heat, whisk the remaining cream and milk into the caramel, and continue whisking until it is all melted and combined - it should hav ea nice caramel color at this point. Combine remaining ingredients with the caramel milk. Microwave in one minute blasts on high until liquid becomes hot and slightly thickened, but not boiling, whisking after each increment. Pour into baked pie shell. Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg and bake for 5 minutes, then lower to 350F. Bake until set.

So that's the evolution of the Meeks/Connor/Connoley Sugar Cream Pie recipe. It may continue to evolve throughout the season. Tyler very much liked the tamer sweetness of my version, but didn't consider it a sugar cream. I liked the sweetness of his mom's recipe, but the complexity of my own. In the end, I'm sure none is as good as Grandma Meeks' version, but we all are thankful for her recipe.

Recently RachelD suggested that I do a demo on one of my desserts, so here we go...

In general know that I think upside down with my desserts since that is normally how I assemble them. The first thing to cross my mind is the flavor combination that I want to feature. In this case I had a jar of brandy soaked chestnuts and I wanted to pair it with a light dark chocolate (64%). Chestnuts scream France to me and because of the movie Vatel I wanted to use my Babel mold. That got thrown on the white board to be stewed over for a few days until I could work it into my schedule.

You may see that I decided to add an orange disc and that my electrician is going to cost me $2500! You'll also notice that I typically do double duty so I made extra orange discs and threw them in some pistachio mousse for a different dessert.

I begin with a chocolate mousse from Hermé:
1 3/4 C. Cream
2 Eggs, room temp
4 Egg yolks, room temp
10 oz Chocolate, chopped small - I used Cocoa Barry 64%
1/2 C. Sugar
3 T. Water

Whip cream to med-firm peaks. Hold in cooler. In mixer whip eggs for a just a few seconds to break them up. Melt chocolate in microwave or stove top and allow to cool to 114ºF. In sauce pan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil until 257ºF (at altitude I only go to 255º). Carefully pour the sugar into the yolks with the mixer on low, then increase speed to high and whip for about 5 minutes or until pale and doubled. Fold a quarter of the cream into the chocolate, then combine the remaining cream. Very carefully fold in the egg mixture into the cream mixture. Put in piping bag.

Then I made an orange curd ala Johnny Iuzzini with a few sheets of gelatin added to ensure stability. These were frozen in discs.

On to the assembly. A good splotch of mousse into the mold, followed by an orange disc pressed in to remove air pockets. A bit more mousse on top of the orange, followed by a dollop of the processed chestnuts which reeked of brandy.

That was then topped (or bottomed as the case may be) by a flourless chocolate disk, again from Hermé:

115 g (4 oz) Dark chocolate
87 g (6 T) Unsalted butter, softened
142 g (1/2 C) Sugar
1 t. Dutch processed cocoa
2 L Egg yolks
1 L Egg
6 L Egg whites

Melt chocolate and cool to 114ºF. Cream butter, 3 T of sugar and the cocoa. Add the yolks and then the eggs. It will look gross at this point, but don't worry. Next add the melted chocolate and mix only until satiny. Don't overmix. In separate bowl, whip whites to soft peaks and add the remaining 5 T of sugar gradually. Whip until glossy and firm. Fold a quarter of the whites into the chocolate, then add the remaining whites until consistent. Spread on a silpat or parchment, sprinkle with turbinado sugar, and bake 350ºF for 25-30 minutes. Once out of the oven, cool, then cut into desired shapes.

Next, freeze them bad boys until hard. At this point let me say that if you don't have fancy molds (available at ChefRubber.com and other places), just use a silicon muffin pan. It will still be a way cooler dessert than anyone else's at the potluck. Now, pop them out of the mold.

See how the bottom became the top. For these I gave a quick spray of orange cocoa butter and then slapped some chocolate on a transfer sheet to get a little bling going.

I boxed them and ran off to a party to listen to the oohs and aahs....little did they know I cranked these out with less than 30 minutes of active work. Now, RachelD, go give it a try!

Book Review: In Search of Total Perfection

Heston Blumenthal is known as a gastro-wizard. Not only does he helm the Fat Duck, once considered the top restaurant in the world, but he also has popular notoriety through his In Search of Perfection television series on the BBC. In Search of Total Perfection is the culmination of the TV series put in print (combining his two previous books from the series into one volume), and offers not only the recipes and exploratory work leading to the recipes, but also the behind-the-scenes tales from the studio. And whereas a movie can drop a book’s plot, story lines and even characters to help the story fit into a two-hour reel, this book flips a page and gathers all of the information presented in the series and expands on the shows with useful and fun details. The reader is left as plump and saturated as Blumenthal’s roast chicken. And that’s where we’ll peck away at this book – roast chicken. Read the rest of the review at The Gastronomer's Bookshelf.

TGRWT #20: Pumpkin and Cooked Chicken

Since I've blabbered on about TGRWT so many times before, if you don't know what it is, go HERE. This is not a competition, nor is it for chefs and professionals, so if you're ever inclined, jump in and give it a go.

This month's event was hosted by old time eG friend Docsconz. I say friend, but spirit guide is more accurate. He has guided me to so many amazing restaurants and culinary experiences that I owe much of my current success to him. Doc chose pumpkin and cooked chicken. I won't get into the mental anguish this led me through debating what cooking method (BBQ tastes very different from boiled), or chicken breed (Wal-Mart steroid chicken v. happy free-range clucker). I'll cut to the chase and say that leading into the holidays I just wanted to get this done in a proud, but easy manner.

The idea came to me immediately - this had to be a molé. Normally I do my TGRWTs very goofyish, but I enjoy making molés and my customers enjoy eating them. I started with chile negros that I brought back from Oaxaca. These were lightly toasted in a dry skillet then softened in boiling water for 30 minutes.

Next, I sautéed a half an onion and dried pumpkin seeds until softened.

That went in a blender with 2 cups of cooked pumpkin meat, a dash of clove and cinnamon, a T. of Valrhona cocoa, a nugget of dark muscovado, black pepper, a small pinch of oregano, and 4 C. of chicken broth. In a large stock I melted 2 T. of lard then strained the blender contents through a chinois and fried for about 10 minutes. I adjusted the broth to get the right consistency and let it simmer for two hours.

For the chicken, I wanted a pure "cooked chicken" taste so it was pressed and sous vide cooked unseasoned. I plated with a piñon tuile.

So the question is always, how well did they go together? This was a can't lose combination, so naturally they went great. I purposefully kept the pumpkin toned down so it didn't feel like a savory pumpkin pie, but that squashiness was very complementary to the chicken. For lunch the next day I took the scraps and threw them into a grilled pita with some goat cheese and had a very nice meal.

Work smart, not strong

That's what they say anyway and I'm tired of spending hours filling my oven when I can have 24 loaves of bread done in less than an hour instead of the three hours it currently takes. I picked up this commercial oven for just $300. I'm waiting for the electric upgrade, but once that's done, I'll be able to produce so much more.

Electrolux Magic Mill DLX 2000...say what!?

A couple of weeks ago I ranted about my Kitchenaid dying just weeks after the warranty ended. I had read numerous similar tales on eGullet so its clearly not a unique problem. And while some people swear by their KAs, I'm ready to move on to something more reliable. When it comes to issues such as this I turn to an online friend, andiesenji, who's opinion I trust more than almost any other. She has quite the background and certainly knows her equipment. She suggested the DLX. Its a price jump, but time will tell if its worth it.

I bought it at PleasantMills which has the best price.

Let me take some of their description:

The Electrolux Magic Mill DLX Assistent has been a Swedish secret for over 50 years. An exceptionally strong dough mixer, the Electrolux DLX has an impeccable reputation for long term reliability and quality results whether you're mixing a cake, whipping a meringue, or baking ten loaves of fresh, light, scrumptious bread.

The Magic Mill DLX Assistent mixer creates smooth, silky, elastic dough quicklyand easily with its unique roller and scraper design. This method effectively mimics kneading by hand, minus the time and effort. As the stainless bowl revolves, the deeply fluted roller of the Magic Mill DLX acts as your fingers, with the scraper mimicking the palm of your hand.

The Magic Mill scraper folds the dough with a rhythmic motion while the roller provides a powerful massaging action. Dough comes out smooth and elastic, in large or small batches. Any speed from 40 to 140 RPM can be selected, and an electronic speed sensor automatically adjusts motor torque to the load. A timer is standard equipment, so the Magic Mill DLX will do its work while you do other tasks, stopping when you want it to. The control panel is angled for comfortable use, and the large timer and speed controls are attractive and easy to read.

The large 8 quart stainless steel bowl of the Magic Mill holds up to 28 cups of flour (7 lbs.), to make approximately 15 lbs. of bread dough (7-10 loaves). The efficient, high-torque 600 watt motor runs smoothly and quietly; coupled with an advanced transmission design, it providing ample power to mix and knead even the largest batch of heavy bread dough without straining. The Magic Mill was given its nickname, "The Workhorse Mixer" not by its manufacturer Electrolux, but by users who praise this powerful kitchen helper that's so enjoyable to use.

So far I agree with this description. I did a large batch of dough today and couldn't figure out whether I was supposed to use the roller or hook, but I made 12 batards where my old KA could only do 6. Its interesting that this machine moves the bowl, not the attachment. Makes sense to me - one big honkin' gear to do the job. Here's some more from their site:

The Magic Mill's whisk beater bowl (the white bowl in illustration above) will create beautiful meringues, beating up to 18 egg whites (or as few as one) with excellent results. You can also cream butter, margarine and shortening with sugar to the creamiest texture for all your cookie needs.

When white bowl is used, it is stationary (unlike the stainless bowl, which turns during use), and the whisks drive from below via a center column in the bowl (the white bowl is shaped something like a bunt cake.) This arrangement provides total access to the top of the Magic Mill bowl, with no overhead motor drive in the way. The beater bowl is sold separately by Magic Mill, but we include it with your mixer at no additional charge. When mixing with either this bowl or the stainless bowl, the only metal in contact with your food is food-grade stainless steel.

The Magic Mill DLX mixer measures 13.5"H x 10.5"W x 15.7"D, weighs only 19 lbs. with stainless bowl. It sits firmly on solid rubber feet, and will not walk on the countertop during use. The entire motor enclosure is made of metal, and is available in your choice of four attractive finishes. The Electrolux Magic Mill DLX mixer has a 3 year manufacturer's warranty on the power unit, 1 year on other parts.

The biggest difference between dense, heavy baked goods and the delightfully textured products you want to enjoy is proper development of the gluten in the dough. The Magic Mill kitchen mixer is unexcelled in its ability to turn out fantastic dough. With the array of available accessories displayed below, it offers to add a myriad of exciting dimensions to your cooking experience. The Magic Mill DLX is a lifetime investment.

I started to max out my bowl with a double batch of butter cream, but I survived. I'll continue reporting on what I think of this and if its worth the investment.