Recipe: Churros - part 2 (orange)

boil the milk, sugar, and butter

As happy as I have been with the churro recipe in the previous post, I started to wonder if it could be better, and pondered a few simple substitutions and adjustments.  Much like when I was playing with the buttermilk doughnuts, I was thinking of things like the fact that milk tastes better than water, and the fact that citrus zest helps lighten an inherently "heavy" product.  I generally like to have a single "go to" recipe for things like this, but despite the fact that the recipes are very similar, the difference in the final product warrants it's own entry.  Some of you may want to use this recipe as your "go to" churro recipe - I'm seriously considering it - not only are they delicious, the citrus sets them apart as something unique.  A friend of ours even had one the day after and couldn't stop raving about it.

You will need:

work in the flour and zest

120g / 1/2C             butter

250ml / 2C              milk

60ml / 1/4C             sugar 

5ml / 1tsp                vanilla paste

2                              orange zest

500ml / 2C              flour

10ml / 2tsp              baking powder

2.5ml / 1/2tsp          kosher salt

4                              eggs

Method:

beat in the eggs

 - put the milk, sugar, vanilla and salt in a sauce pot and bring to a simmer

 - sift the flour and baking powder together

 - zest the oranges

 - when the milk comes to a simmer, drop in the zest, then the flour mix

 - work with a wooden spoon until the paste is combined and thick

 - transfer to a mixing machine with a paddle and start beating

 - beat the eggs in one at a time, completely mixing in each time

 - set up a piping bag with a star tip and fill with the batter

 - fry at 350F / 177C until golden brown
 - drain on paper towel
 - toss in sugar and serve

pipe into the fryer

Recipe: Buttermilk lime coleslaw dressing

the finished dressing

Picnic season brings coleslaw.  It can be as simple as shredded cabbage, or get things like apples, nuts and dried fruit involved.  Whatever your mix, this dressing is really delicious and not too thick and heavy.  Heck, I'll even use this on a regular salad.

You will need:

250ml / 1C                         mayonnaise
125ml / 1/2C                      buttermilk
60ml / 1/4C                        lime juice
60ml / 1/4C                        sour cream
60ml / 1/4C                        sugar
7.5ml / 1.5tsp                     kosher salt
3.75ml / 3/4tsp                   coarse ground black pepper
3.75ml / 3/4tsp                   garlic powder
2.5ml / 1/2tsp                     dill

fully dressed slaw

Method:

 - whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream
 - whisk in the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and dill
 - whisk in the buttermilk and lime juice
 - check seasoning
 - use as needed with coleslaw

Recipe: Churros

We had a churro party the other night.  The nice thing with churros over doughnuts is that you don't need to wait for the dough to proof, you just make the batter and start frying.  Churro batter is very similar to a choux paste - some people use just that - but I think there is a benefit to tailoring the tool to the task.  I've made the choux paste style churros before, but as good as they were, they never quite sold me 100%.  

I like this style with a little baking powder in the mix because the churros come up really fluffy.  The outside gets good and crispy while the inside stays soft and chewy.  These are the churros you want to make if you want to go the distance and fill them with chocolate, cajeta, jams etc.  

mix the paste

This recipe is a bit bigger than some others for a couple reasons - the first time we made this batter, we were making a double batch, which called for 4 eggs, but after adding the 3rd egg, the batter was getting pretty soft and I made the executive call to stop there.  The churros came out amazing, so if it ain't broke, I'm not going to fix it, and a recipe calling for 1.5 eggs is just silly.  As for the size, a "double batch" will happily do for 6 people - I wouldn't bother setting up a deep fryer for less, so double is the new single.

You will need:

2C                        flour
2C                       water
3                          eggs
1/2tsp                  salt
2Tbs                    sugar

beat in the eggs

1tsp                     vanilla paste
8Tbs                   butter
2tsp                     baking powder
as needed            sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting

Method:

 - get a deep fryer setup warming to 350F / 177C
 - put the water, butter, sugar and salt in a pot on the stove to boil
 - sift the baking powder and flour together
 - when the water comes to a boil, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to bring it together
 - transfer the mix to a mixer with a paddle attachment and mix
 - add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each one

fry

 - mix in the vanilla
 - transfer the batter to a piping bag with a star tip
 - pipe the churros into the hot oil
 - turn to colour evenly
 - remove from the oil and drain on paper towel
 - toss in sugar or cinnamon sugar
 - serve warm

Product review: Coal Harbour's Smoke and Mirrors beer

This is just a heads up about a really nice small batch beer you might want to try.  It's from the Coal Harbour Brewing company, one of the newer breweries around Vancouver (it's actually just down the road from me).  I've tried a few smoked beers now and again - not that there have been too many - and this one seems to catch the smoky character best without being too abrasive.  The beer is dark and really smooth, remarkable again since this baby weighs in at a hefty 8.5%.  Carla and I shared a 650ml bottle to go along with our arrachera - a perfect match.  Help support small breweries, give this one a go.

Recipe: Arrachera (Mexican style skirt or flank steak)

meat

Expat Mexicans are often prone to homesickness at dinnertime, and coming from one of the best eating countries in the world, it's hard to blame them.  In an effort to help, as well to learn some new things myself, I always encourage Carla to call home for recipes so we can make some proper food here in Vancouver.  Arrachera has long been a bit of a holdout in our repetoire.  There was initially a bit of a language barrier deciding which cut of beef it actually is - classically, it is a skirt steak, but a flank will do in a pinch.  The biggest confusion however, came from the fact that in Mexico the final product is much more tender than the same cuts prepared Canadian style - did we have the right cut after all?  We did, but a key element in the process was not quite there - the tenderizing and marinating stage.

blend the first part of the marinade

If you've done a bit of pastry work, you know that some fruits don't get along with gelatin desserts - there is an enzyme called protease that breaks down the proteins in the gelatin.  Apply this to a cut of meat, which has a lot of protein, you have a tenderizer.  For this reason, many preparations for arrachera call for pineapple juice.  The trick here is to get unpasteurized pineapple juice or while you will get a nice marinade, you will miss out on the tenderizing effect as the pasteurizing process will have killed the enzyme.  To make sure, you can puree fresh pineapple in a blender and add that to the marinade.  If you choose to strain the juice out of the puree or not is up to you.

Beyond the marinade, the desire is to get a very fast and high heat sear on the meat - you want some good caramelization on the surface while maintaining a nice medium rare inside.  The first of our steaks were done on a hot grill, but we actually got a better result the second round by getting a cast iron grill pan as hot as we could on the stove, then got and even faster, more effective sear.  After resting, by slicing the steak thin and across the grain, you effectively tenderize the meat some more by cutting the fibres shorter.

blend in the cilantro

You will need:

1.36kg / 3lbs                       skirt steak (or flank)

375ml / 2.5C                       fresh pineapple juice / puree

1                                          medium onion

4 cloves                               garlic

20ml / 4tsp                          black pepper

20ml / 4tsp                          smoked paprika

20ml / 4tsp                          ground cumin

30ml / 2Tbs                         brown sugar

15ml / 1Tbs                         adobo sauce from chipotles (see recipe for abuela's chipotle)

2 bunches                            cilantro

add the meat to the marinade

10ml / 2tsp                          kosher salt

Method:

 - if needed, trim the meat of any fat and silverskin

 - poke the steaks all over with a fork

 - if using fresh pineapple, roughly chop up and puree in a bar blender

 - strain the pineapple juice if desired and set aside

 - roughly chop the onion and garlic and put in the blender

 - add the spices and adobo and blend with half of the pineapple juice

smother it but good

 - roughly chop the cilantro and blend into the mix along with the other half of the juice

 - completely smother the steaks with the marinade

 - marinate up to 48 hours, turning and rotating periodically

 - when ready to cook, remove from the marinade, wipe the steaks clean and pat dry

 - get a grill or frying pan very hot

 - season with salt and pepper

 - sear the steaks quickly, colouring both sides

 - let rest

 - slice thin and across the grain

 - enjoy

sear it hard

Recipe: Creme anglaise

Creme anglaise is one of the all time classic dessert sauces.  Maybe you are making the isles flotants from the previous post, or simply dressing up a plate, a rich and tasty anglaise will surely find its place.  You could get away with a little less yolks in this recipe, but I personally feel that a solid yolk content contributes to the success of this sauce.  This is an especially complementary recipe for the isles flotants of the previous post because it uses the exact number of yolks that were separated out for the meringues.

You will need:

5                            egg yolks

500ml / 2C            cream (or milk for a lighter result)

80ml / 1/3C           sugar

1                            vanilla bean


Method:

 - put the cream (or milk) in a pot with the vanilla and half the sugar and bring to a simmer
 - when it simmers, turn off the heat, cover with plastic wrap, and let steep
 - whisk the yolks with the rest of the sugar till pale
 - set a pot of water on to simmer for a bain marie
 - bring the cream back up to a simmer
 - temper the cream into the yolks, whisking constantly
 - set up a bowl with ice and another bowl on top of the ice
 - place the anglaise bowl over the bain marie and slowly but constantly stir it with a spatula
 - cook the anglaise until it coats the spatula and reaches 83C / 181F
 - quickly turn off the heat and strain the anglaise through a chinois into the bowl over ice
 - stir the sauce to cool evenly
 - store in the fridge until use

Recipe: Isles flotants (floating islands)

Floating islands are one of the lightest desserts you can serve - a fluffy meringue sitting in a pool of sauce along with some fresh fruit as a garnish.  I'm not normally a big one for microwave cookery, but this it's hard to beat the results of making these in a microwave.  The sugar level is just about up to you, just don't go beyond equal weight of sugar to egg whites (that's pretty sweet for a light dessert anyway).  This recipe will make about 7 portions using 1 cup ramekins.

You will need:

5                           egg whites

to taste                 white sugar

Method:

 - start whisking the egg whites

 - as you get to a soft peak, sprinkle in sugar 

 - once you have a firm, glossy peak, fill the ramekins with the meringue and level off the tops

 - microwave each cup for 1 1/2 minutes, or up to three at once for 2 minutes

 - let the meringues cool slightly, then turn out into a wide bottom bowl

 - surround with an anglaise or dessert soup and garnish with fruit

 - if not serving right away, cool completely in the cups, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate

Recipe: Roasted walnut and goat's milk soup

This is a dessert soup with some real character and elegance.  The goat's milk is remeniscient of a nice chevre, which goes perfectly with roasted walnuts.  The soup itself adds a good moisture to a dessert dish without going the heavier route of an anglais or a coulis.  Drop a little warm cake in the middle or send a poached pear for a swim.  If you want to take a twist on a classic, use it with isles flotants (floating islands) - a dessert so light you might need seconds.

You will need:

142g / 5oz                       walnuts

207ml / 7fl oz                  whole goat's milk

45ml / 3Tbs                     sugar

pinch                               grated nutmeg

to taste                             walnut liqueur

Method:

 - roast the walnuts in a low oven until a deep golden brown

 - place the nuts in a blender with the goat's milk and nutmeg and sugar

 - blend well

 - put the mixture in a pot and gently bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat

 - cover with plastic wrap and cool

 - transfer to the fridge and let steep overnight

 - strain through a chinois

 - add liqueur to taste and serve warm or cold

Recipe: Buckwheat honey ice cream

Buckwheat honey is among the most distinctive honey varieties available, and lends a beautiful, almost floral characteristic to this ice cream.  As we approach berry season, this is a great top to a slice of homemade pie.

You will need:

500ml / 2C            cream
500ml / 2C            milk (homo is best)
1                            vanilla bean
10                          egg yolks
75ml / 5Tbs           buckwheat honey

Method:

 - scrape the vanilla bean into a pot with the cream and milk
 - bring the cream mixture to a simmer
 - turn off the heat and cover the pot with plastic wrap for 20 minutes
 - whisk the egg yolks with the honey
 - bring the cream mixture back up to a simmer
 - temper the mix into the yolks and honey
 - return the mixture back to the pot
 - get an ice bath ready
 - stirring constantly, bring the custard to 83C / 181.4F
 - immediately strain the mix into a bowl over the ice bath and stir to cool
 - cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
 - give the custard a gentle whisk
 - churn in an ice cream maker

Recipe: Champagne raspberry mignonette

As the weather gets warmer, oysters will get more popular.  This mignonette is a simple preparation that adds a nice fruitiness without overpowering the oyster.  The water is there to tame the acidity, but if you want the extra zing, just cut it back.

You will need:

148ml / 5oz                   Champagne vinegar

148ml / 5oz                   raspberry vinegar

148ml / 5oz                   water

15ml / 1Tbs                   sugar

1                                    shallot

to taste                           coarse ground black pepper

to taste                           kosher salt

Method:

 - mix the vinegars and water

 - add the sugar and season with salt to taste

 - gently warm the mix to melt the sugar and salt

 - cool 

 - mince the shallot fine and add it in

 - add black pepper to taste

 - serve on fresh shucked oysters