Kitchen Chick

IMBB 20 Round Up Part 2: Sweet joy befall thee!

We covered the savory side of breakfast, lunch and dinner in part 1, and now dessert...

Lemon Souffle ... Spiced Quince Souffle ... Fiery, Dark, Dangerous Chocolate Souffle ... Souffles de Maracuya (Passion Fruit)

Fallen Chocolate Souffle Torte ... Apricot Souffle ... Chocolate Souffle with Crème Anglaise ... Cloudberry Vanilla Souffle

Chocolate Orange Frozen Souffle ... A Sweet Cinnamon Souffle ... Hot Chocolate Souffle with Chocolate Sauce ... Lemon and Orange Souffle

Apple Souffle ... Frozen Chocolate Souffle with Warm Raspberry Sauce ... Butterscotch Souffle ... Alice Medrich's Low Fat Chocolate Souffle

Pomegranate Souffle ... Chocolate Chestnut ... Lemon Souffle Crepe ... Apricot Souffle

Chocolate Sous Vide Soufflé ... Gingered Oatmeal Apricot Souffle ... Soufflé au Chocolat et Fruit de Passion ... Raspberry Souffle with Crème Anglaise

Strawberry Souffle ... Chocolate-Filled Custard Souffle ... and Il Forno recommends Ernest Knam's Souffles

This is the second and final round up for IMMB 20 Souffles. If you were to make a souffle (or two) a week, you'll find that IMBB 20 participants have created over a year's worth of souffles to discover from classic recipes to new and startling fusion creations. There's a souffle here for every taste and style.

Some food bloggers went wild, doing multiple souffles — savory and sweet. I featured only one souffle per site (mostly in the interest of saving time and getting the round up out before Halloween), so take some time to poke around — there are more gems to be discovered.

Thank you all!

P.S. If I missed your souffle, drop me a note at kitchenchick @ gmail.com and I'll add it to the round up.

IMBB # 20 + Souffle

IMBB 20 Round Up Part 1: Something Savory Rises

The first of three round ups for IMBB 20: Has my blog fallen? focuses on the savory side of souffles. Over 50 bloggers from around the world joined IMBB 20, offering well over 70 different souffles. Kudos to the many of you fearlessly attacked the theme and made your first souffles, with special commendation to those of you who adapted souffles to other cuisines. Wow!

So take some time to click and explore. I guarantee you'll find a souffle to fall in love with among these marvelous offerings.

No Woman Spoon Bread with Bacon & Onions ... Souffle Provencal ... A Classic Souffle

Sweet Potato Souffle ... Parsnip and Cheddar Souffle ... Lemon Scented Broccoli Souffle

Lobster Mushroom & Manchego Cheese Hot Souffle ... Ham and Gruyere Souffle ... Cheese and Beet Souffle

Butternut Squash Souffle ... Breakfast Souffle ... Cheddar Cheese & Chive Souffle

Broccoli Souffle ... Goat Cheese Souffle ... Butternut Squash Pudding Souffle

Asiago & Chevre Souffle ... Sweet Potato & Corn Semi-Souffle ... Goat Cheese Souffle with Red Peppers and Chanterelles

Gluten-free Cheese Souffle ... Comté Cheese and Marjoram Soufflé ... Pork Crackle & Asparagus Souffle

Spinach and Parmesean Souffle ... Pecorino Cheese Souffle with Carmelized Vegetables ... Bread Bowl Souffle

Classic Gruyere Souffle ... Japanese Style Souffle

IMBB # 20 + Souffle

P.S. A special thanks to Becks & Posh -- I borrowed shamelessly from her September IMBB 19 round-up.

IMBB 20: Chocolate & Custard Duo-Soufflé

It was a month of soufflés.  I researched, I pondered, and in between working way too much (just watch -- come February I'll be complaining about the lack of contract work), I managed to bake an apple soufflé, a coconut soufflé, two custard soufflés, and a coconut-peanut butter with cayenne soufflé. This last one was a recipe of my own creation, and I fully intended it to be my IMBB #20 entry, but as of tonight, Sunday, I am still perfecting the recipe and with the clock ticking down I needed a winner.

Joe was advocating my chocolate soufflé (recipe courtesy of Jacques Torres), and he made a suggestion I couldn't resist: a chocolate soufflé-filled custard soufflé.  Two soufflés in one!

This required substantial coordination.  I had to make two different bases and two batches of whipped egg whites and have them ready to go at the same time.  When the soufflé fillings were ready, I layered the bottom of the soufflé dish with custard soufflé.  I held the largest cookie/biscuit cutter I had in the middle of the soufflé dish and filled it with chocolate soufflé.  Then I filled in custard soufflé in the gap between the dish and the cookie cutter.  I lifted out the cutter and piled more chocoate and custard soufflé mix.  I ended up using all of my custard soufflé and had a bit of chocolate soufflé mix left over.

I knew from experience that my chocolaté souffle would be a high riser -- more so than the custard soufflé -- and I wasn't disappointed.  The chocolate soufflé puffed up, pulling away from the custard and creating a two-toned soufflé with a high-rising center.

While the soufflé baked, I mixed up a batch of slightly sweet whipped cream to serve with it...

Soufflé recipes will be in the extended post.

Tagged with: IMBB # 20 + Souffle

IMBB 20: Has my blog fallen?

Shhh...!  Don't slam the door.  And don't let that cold draft in.  Quick, now, to your places at the table because the Is My Blog Burning #20 theme for October 2005 is soufflés, and a soufflé never waits for the guests.

These puffed up prima donnas have a life span as brief as a breath.  Okay, a long breath.  But their fall is inevitable.  Some cookbooks grant soufflés the lengthy lifespan of 20-30 minutes before they deflate, but others give them a scant few minutes at best.  Soufflés date back to 18th century France, and their reputation for being complex and easy to ruin is almost as old.  It's really an undeserved reputation.  Soufflés are actually quite easy.  The complexity, as one chef puts it, lies in the perfection of it.

Or, as James Beard put it, The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it knows you are afraid of it.

The word soufflé comes from the French verb "souffler" which means, among several things, "to blow air."  A soufflé gets its magnificent but unstable height from bubbles of hot air trapped in its delicate structure.  When the soufflé cools, the hot air contracts and the soufflé deflates.  Simple physics.  There are a number of tips for keeping your soufflé all puffed up and enjoying it at its peak, but the most important one is "serve immediately."

There is a soufflé out there for everyone.  Savory or sweet.  Vegetable or fruit.  Meat or vegetarian.  I've even seen vegan recipes.  (A soufflé without eggs!  Can it be true?)  So bring your high-hat masterpiece to the communal food blog table, and if it falls call it a "mousse" and serve it anyway.  We won't mind a bit, and it'll taste just as good.

The world of food blogging has grown tremendously since I booked my IMBB slot nearly a year ago, and I am looking forward to being "à bout de souffle" by the many wonderful soufflés you all will create.

How to join the fun
Step 1: Make a Soufflé.  Any kind of soufflé. Take some photos (quick! before it deflates!) and then write and publish a blog post about your breathless soufflé-baking experience on any day between Friday, October 21 and Sunday, October 23 2005.

Step 2: Email me at [email protected] by October 23 with a link to your blog (preferably the permalink to your IMBB #20 entry) and the word IMBB in your subject line, and I will do my best to complete a round-up before Halloween.

Step 3 (optional): I'm also going to follow Becks & Posh's example and attempt to do an auto-round up using a Technorati Tag.  Add this bit of code to your post and ping technorati:

Tagged with: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/IMBB20" rel="tag">IMBB # 20</a> + <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Souffle" rel="tag">Souffle</a>

If what I just said makes no sense, check out the Technorati Tag instructions at Food Blogs S'cool.

Questions about IMBB #20?  Email me or post them here, and I'll do my best to answer them in a timely fashion.

Thank you and Bon Appétit!

Is My Blog Burning was started by Alberto at Il Forno.  You can read more about this grande dame of food blogging events at www.ismyblogburning.com/imbb.

Tagged with IMBB # 20 + Souffle

IMBB #19: Ethiopian Shiro and Faux Injera

It is nearly impossible for me to tire of Ethopian food. I only provide that "nearly" because I think it might theroetically be possible, but I haven't been able to put it to the test and eat Ethopian food exclusively for, say, a few months.

When I heard that Beck's and Posh were hosting a vegan IMBB, the first thing that came to mind was Indian food and something with tomotoes. I've got buckets of them sitting in my kitchen fresh from my garden. (I really need to learn how to can food.) But though I love Indian food, I wasn't feeling inspired.

The second thing that came to mind was shiro.

Oh yeah.

Ethopian meat dishes are made with clarified butter, but the vegetable dishes are made with vegetable oil. Shiro vies with collard greens for being my favorite Ethopian dish. Shiro is powdered beans (usually chickpeas and spices) cooked with spices and onion in some vegetable oil. You can find some shiro recipes on the web, but the amounts seem a bit suspicious. (1 1/2 C of oil???) As for the powder itself, you can buy pre-made shiro powder at Ethoipian groceries, or you can find recipes on the web or in Ethopican cookbooks. I'm lazy. I buy my powder when I have the opportunity.

My untutored rendition of shiro...

Shiro for Two

1/2 C shiro powder
some chopped onion (say 1/4 cup, or more if you really like onions)
some chopped tomato (about two small-ish medium tomatoes. I skin them first) or use tomato paste
garlic powder
a few Tbs of vegetable oil
1-2 C. of water
salt to taste
extra berbere powder if you like it spicier
Injera for serving

Puree the onion in a food processor. Heat some oil in a pan and saute the onion until soft and just starting to brown. Puree the tomato in a food processor. Add it to the onion and saute a bit. Add the shiro powder and 1 cup of water. Stir to mix. Cook for a bit and salt and spice to taste. The shiro will thicken. Turn off heat.

Now, the shiro I've had in restaurants has always been quite runny. So, after I've made injera, which because I'm not very good at it take a while, the shiro becomes rather stiff and thick. I turn the heat back on and add additional water until it reaches a consistency that I like.

Line a platter with injera. Pour the shiro over it and serve with extra injera.

To eat: tear off pieces of injera and use it to scoop shiro.

Faux Injera for Two
Real injera is made with teff. It ferments over a long period of time. My sister-in-law claims that it's really not that hard to make, but I haven't tried it yet. So I make fake injera. It lacks the slightly sour edge of real injera, but it provides a workable substitute when the real thing is not to be had.

2 C white flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
(or substite the above with 2 C self-rising flour)
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C. soda water
2 C water

Sift the flour, add the soda water and regular water. Stir. You should have a thin batter.

Heat a griddle or wide pan with some vegetable oil until it's hot enough that a drop of water dances on it.

Pour a ladle (amount should be adjusted for the size of your pan) of batter in the center and swirl it around. You may need to "push" the batter out with the back of a spoon. It should make a thin crepe-like layer.

Cook over fairly high heat. The top will bubble as it sets. If I think the bottom will brown too much but the top isn't setting, I put a lid on the pan for 5-10 seconds to trap the heat to help the top set. I use a thin metal spatula to loosen it from the pan and then slide it out on to a platter. Roll the injera cigar-like and set aside. Wipe the pan with a paper towel with some oil on it and start the next one.

If your injera is sticking to the pan too much, it's possible that your griddle is not hot enough.

You can use your "mistakes" to line the serving plate for the shiro.

I suck at making crepe-like things. I usually ruin the first 1/4 of them before I get it right. Then after a few good ones, the pan cools too much and they start gluing themselves to the pan and it takes me several more to figure out what's happening. Injera shouldn't brown, but I've found that for this fake recipe it helps if the bottom gets just a touch brown. It firms the crepe up enough to not become too mushy and tear and fall apart when removing it from the pan.

Tagged with: IMBB # 19 + Vegan

IMBB #16: Pinenut and Egg Bastila

I didn't expect to do IMBB this month.  I've been so busy of late.  But I had a feeling this was the weekend, so I checked in and discovered that, yes, this weekend is IMBB.  And with such an eggs-ellant theme, courtesy of Seattle Bon Vivant, I knew I had to make time.  I love eggs.  In fact, this morning I made hollandaise sauce for a Benedicty-like breakfast of fried egg and bacon on toast with hollandaise.  Ok, the bacon made it a bit excessive.  It pleased me that I had unknowingly already fulfilled the IMBB with my hollandaise sauce, but I desired to do something a little less common with the common egg.  I pondered for a bit, checked a few cookbooks, rummaged through the cubbards and fridge, and came up with an eggy dish that pleases me quite a bit.

I had my first bastila ("ba-stee-ya") at a North African restaurant near D.C.  They used chicken instead of squab.  I was in heaven.  I have yet to make a chicken bastila, but some years back I discovered Kitty Morse's savory cashew bastila recipe from her The Vegetarian Table: North Africa cookbook.  I was out of cashews, but I had pinenuts.  (Mmmm... pinenuts.)  The cashew version is yummy, and, I must say, it works quite well with pinenuts too.

IMBB 14: Orange you gonna have some Carrot Halva?

For IMBB #14, Ladygoat asked us to cook it up orange. As the orange cake was a bit less than orange-colored, it was back to the stove top for something orange that I could make without an extra shopping trip. The only orange food I had readily available was a bag of carrots. Lucky me.

I love Indian sweets, though I don't often cook them. (I have yet to master the art of making jalebi.) Carrot halwa takes a bit of time, but is otherwise a snap to make and only requires a few ingredients.

Simple Carrot Halwa
6 medium carrots
3 C milk
8 cardamon pods
5 Tbs ghee (butter can substitute for ghee though it won't have quite the same flavor)
5 Tbs sugar
1 - 2 Tbs chopped almonds or other kinds of nuts (good choices: cashews or pistachios)
a strand or two of saffron for additional color (optional)

Grate carrots. Cook them in the milk with the caradmon pods and optional saffron. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring frequently until all the liquid is gone. Heat the ghee in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add carrot mixture and fry until the carrots look dry-ish. (10-15 minutes or so) Add the sugar and nuts and fry for two more minutes.

Note: while you could use vegetable oil instead of ghee or butter, you'll miss out of the flavor that ghee adds. I've used chopped walnuts when I didn't have almonds, and I thought the walnuts went well with the carrots. If you like, you can also add a tablespoon or two of sultanas (golden raisins).

IMBB 10: Cookie Swap

A big thank you to Domestic Goddess for this month's theme.  Hop on over to her blog to read her IMBB #10 cookie swap write-up.

I love cookies. Maybe even more than I love pie. I had recently posted two of my favorite cookie recipes (oatmeal-cranberry and apricot-chocolate chip), which left me in a quandry of what to bake. In the end, I couldn't decide on just one, so here are my three offerings:  one for elegance, one for simplicity, and one for old-fashioned decadence.

Elegance: Ginger Thins

1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs confectioner's sugar
3 Tbs corn syrup
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground giner
pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, ginger, and salt together.  Put butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan and heat gentle, stirring, until sugar disolves.  Add flour mixture and stir until lumps are gone.  (Or as gone as you can get them.)  Drop small spoonfuls on one of the parchment-lined baking tray.  Leave plenty of space (4-6 inches) between the cookies.  Bake for 7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool for about 30 seconds before the next step.  (You can get the second tray going during this time.)

Now the tricky part... You need to lift the cookies and wrap them around a rolling pin (the thin rolling pins work best) or tall thin glass.   If the cookie is too hot, it will stretch and fall apart.  If it's too cool, it won't be flexible enough to wrap around the rolling pin.  There are a lot of ways to get the cookies to the rolling pin.  You can use a thin metal spatula to lift them off the tray.  Or you can quickly cut the parchment paper around the cookie and, with parchment paper on the outside, wrap them around the pin.  Or, you can put the rolling pin over the cookie, and quickly lift and roll the cookie onto the pin.  Or...  (Or — just had this thought — even pre-cut the paper into 5 or 6 inch squares.  That would make lifting the cookies up easy!)

The more "brown" the cookie is, the faster it will stiffen as it cools, so I wrap the darkest ones first.

Simplicity:  Cinnamon Palmiers

This recipe requires only three ingredients and a minimum of preparation, what could be more simple?  Yet they look so fancy!

Pre-made 8oz frozen puff pastry sheets.

Per pastry sheet, you will need: 1/2 cup of super fine sugar (though regular sugar works fine too) 1 tsp cinnamon

Thaw the puff pastry to almost thawed.  (If it's a bit firm it's easier to handle.) 

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

You can roll out the puff pastry to 10"x12" inches, if you like.  This will get you a few more cookies, but can make the dough more diffcult to handle.

Mix sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the mixture on a work surface.  Lay the puff pastry on top.  Sprinkle the other 1/4 cup of sugar mixture on top of the pastry.  Starting on a long edge, roll the pastry up to its center.  Roll up the other side so that the two rolled edges meet in the center.  Slice into cookies 1/2 inch thick.  Lay them on the parchment paper with enough space (a few inches) for the cookies to expand.  Cook 10-12 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for a few minutes on the pan before putting them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

It's easy to burn these, so watch them carefully.

Decadence: Hello Dolly Bars

This recipe comes from Penzey's Spices and is nearly identical to Seven Layer Bars.  Chocolate, caramel, coconut, and nuts...  Mmmm!

1 2/3 cup ground graham crackers (10-12 graham crackers)
1 stick butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (pick your favorite.  I like pecans.)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
14 or 15 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix cinnamon with graham cracker crumbs.  Add butter and stir to moisten. Press the mixture into a 9"x13" pan. Top the crust with the chopped nuts. Top with chocolate chips. Top with coconut.  Mix vanilla into the condensed milk. Pour evenly over the top. Bake 20-25 minutes until the coconut is becoming golden brown. Important: Cool before cutting!

IMBB #10: Cookie Swap!

The Domestic Goddess brings us the Cookie Swap for Is My Blog Burning #10. Sunday, November 21 is the date. Just in time for American Thanksgiving.

I can't wait. And since I've recently featured two of my fav cookie recipes (oatmeal-cranberry and chocolate-apricot), I have the perfect excuse for discovering wonderful new cookie recipes.

IMBB #9 — Three Chocolate Layer Terrine

An Obsession with Food brings us Is My Blog Burning #9 with the theme being terrines.

I've never made a terrine. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever eaten a terrine. Terrines and foie gras have always been synomyous in my mind, and since I don't care for goose livers, no matter how fattened they are, I've generally kept away from terrines. So I was delighted to learn that there is so much more to terrines than foie gras.

I looked for recipes that I knew would have the broadest appeal and avoid the various food allergies of the friends I would be serving it to. Google obliged me, and I discovered "Cate Dowling's Three Chocolate Layered Terrine." This terrine has whipped cream, chocolate, eggs, and sugar — the four essential food groups.

The recipe called for milk, dark, and white chocolates. I think milk chocolate is too sweet, so I used semi-sweet instead. I used Valrhona 71% cacao for the dark, and Valrhona 56% cacao for the semi-sweet. For the white chocolate, I used El Rey.

It is an easy recipe, and the result is a terrine-shaped mousse.

Chopped chocolates:

Recipe in extended post.