Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Raspberries August 29, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Raspberries 2017-08-30 01:15:31 Serves 4 Print Ingredients 2 tablespoons of butter, melted 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of vanilla or vanilla bean paste 4 firm, ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream 6 ounces of raspberries Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large, shallow baking dish, combine the butter, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla bean paste. Add peaches, and turn to coat with butter mixture; arrange, cut side down, in a single layer. Roast until peaches are tender and cooking liquid is syrupy, 15-20 min., brushing with cooking liquid halfway through. Serve peaches warm with vanilla ice cream and raspberries; drizzle with cooking liquid. By Teri Hiben Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
For The Love Of Caramel by Paul Lindemuth July 12, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment One of my favorite cookbooks is “My Last Supper” by Melanie Dunea. It is a journal where 50 great chefs were asked “if you were to die tomorrow, what would you want for your last meal on earth?’ Each chef shared their personal thoughts and requests. I’ve often been asked a similar question when I’m teaching: “what is your favorite food or flavor?” I know the answer, hands down, to either of these questions: Caramel. There is something seductive about caramel and the flavor descriptors are pretty diverse: buttery, nutty, smoky, toasted, butterscotch, burnt. I love the chemistry part of working with caramel which begins with melting pure cane sugar and slowly controlling the temperature to turn the sugar from crystal clear to pale amber to deep golden brown. Each stage yields different flavors: pale amber is light and mild, deep amber is rich and complex. Taking the caramel beyond this point to dark caramel yields a more bitter flavor due to increased oxidation (my favorite). Additionally, heating beyond this point (which happens very quickly) will turn the caramel into a black, smoking, bitter mess as the sugar breaks down into pure carbon. I spent the 4th of July holiday toying with this chemistry while roasting marshmallows to create S’mores. I started with that initial golden-brown crust on the marshmallows, took it one step further to dark brown (actually peeling that layer off to taste it and then putting the remainder back over the fire and tasting again). Then I let a couple of marshmallows actually catch fire and get totally charred…. not so tasty. It sure was fun playing with melted and burnt sugar! When you peel back the layers of chemistry and technique of caramel, you can easily create some pretty amazing flavors. Patiently working with one cup of granulated sugar, ¼ cup of water to dissolve the sugar and adding 1 cup of heavy cream to the hot caramel will yield my favorite thing to eat: perfect caramel sauce. Salted Caramel Apple Tartlets 2017-07-12 17:59:13 Print Ingredients 1 cup sugar ¼ cup cold water 1 cup heavy cream ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick wedges ¼ cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 2 tablespoons Calvados or apple brandy 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 package frozen puff pastry thawed Instructions In a small saucepan combine the sugar and the water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Using a pastry brush dipped in cold water, brush down any sugar particles that cling to the side of the pan. Continue to boil until the sugar caramelizes and turns a deep amber color, being careful not to let it get too dark and burn. Place the saucepan in the bottom of the sink. Carefully pour the cream into the melted sugar. The sugar will bubble violently and give off steam. Return the saucepan to low heat and stir until the caramel is dissolved and smooth. Add the sea salt and set the caramel aside. In a large sauté pan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples and toss to evenly coat them with the butter. Sauté the apples until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and continue cooking until the sugar melts and the apples are caramelized, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the nutmeg, Calvados or apple brandy and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine. Set the apples aside. (The apples may be prepared up to 4 hours in advance, loosely covered and held at room temperature. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Gently unfold one sheet of the thawed puff pastry. Cut the pastry into 4 rounds. Transfer the pastry rounds to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Using a smaller round cutter make a shallow indentation into each puff pastry round, being careful to not cut all the way through the pastry. Using a fork, evenly prick the center of each pastry inside the inner circle. Divide half of the apples into the center of the pastry rounds. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry and apples. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into thin slices and scatter the butter evenly over the apples. Sprinkle the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the tartlets. Bake the tartlets until the pastry is puffed and brown and the apples are soft, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove the tartlets from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to plates. Spoon some of the caramel sauce over each tartlet and serve. Serves 8 By Paul Lindemuth Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Walnut Cake May 25, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Walnut Cake 2017-05-25 13:42:44 Print Ingredients 1 cup walnut pieces (ground to 1/2 cup walnut powder) 1 1/4 cup cake flour (divided, plus more for dusting pans) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick butter (softened, plus 1 tablespoon to grease pan) 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 orange (zested) 1 tablespoon maple syrup 3/4 cup buttermilk powdered sugar (to dust) Instructions Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease an 9-inch cake pan with butter and dust with flour and set aside. In the bowl of a food processor add the walnuts and 1/4 cup flour and pulse until finely ground to a powder. Remove from the processor to a large bowl and set aside. Wipe out the food processor. To the ground walnuts, add the remaining flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine. In the bowl of the food processor add the butter and sugar and pulse until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, vanilla, orange zest and maple syrup and process until combined. Add the flour mixture and pulse until just combined. While the machine is running, drizzle in the buttermilk and continue to process until the batter just comes together. Remove to the cake pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake is golden brown. Remove to a baking rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. By Dana Williams Adapted from Carla Hall Adapted from Carla Hall Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Lemon Curd Tart April 13, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Lemon Curd Tart 2017-04-13 16:13:00 Print Tart Shell ¾ cup butter, room temperature ½ cup sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 ¾ cup flour pinch of salt Lemon Curd 2-4 lemons 1 ½ cups sugar ¼ pound butter, room temperature 4 eggs, room temperature 1/ teaspoon salt 1 10” baked tart shell Tart Shell Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar together until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. Then add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Press the dough into a 10” round tart pan, making sure the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm. Place a piece of parchment paper inside the chilled tart. Fill with rice or beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove parchment and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20-25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature*. Lemon Curd Remove the zest from 2 of the lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith.Squeeze enough lemons to make ½ cup juice. Put the zest in a food processor and add the sugar. Process for 2-3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced. Add the butter, then the eggs, one at a time. Finally, add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined. Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. The curd will thicken at about 175 degrees. Remove from heat. Fill the tart shell with the warm lemon curd** and allow to sit at room temperature. Notes *Can be made 1 day ahead. Makes one 10” tart shell or 5 4 ½” tart shells. **Can substitute limes, oranges or grapefruit for equal measures of the lemon zest and juice. By Teri Hiben Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Roasted Plum-Apricot Ice Cream September 6, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Roasted Plum-Apricot Ice Cream 2016-09-06 15:20:56 Print Ingredients 4 plums 2 apricots ¾ cup sugar, divided 1/3 cup heavy cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 drops almond extract Instructions Halve the fruit and pull out stones. Set in a small baking dish, cut sides up. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of the sugar. Roast in a 350 degree F. oven until fruit has collapsed, about 1 hour. Cool to room temperature. Scrape fruit and juices into a food processor along with the remaining ½ cup sugar, cream and extracts; swirl until smooth. Press through a medium mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Chill. Place in an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer instructions, approximately 25 minuntes. By Teri Hiben Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/