Undercooked again! The third try is not the charm in the world of pastry cream. It has to come to a boil, but not curdle or turn to scrambled eggs. This is only the second recipe I've tried! I went to my pastry school notes, and it was the second recipe we made! I feel like I'm missing some big huge clue. Perhaps it will come to me on the fourth try!
By the way, for my birthday I bought myself 2 more cookbooks (Ina Garten) and an ingredient substitution book. Can't wait! I did get rid of 4 more cookbooks to make room. That's good, right?
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Great French Pastry Experiment - Raspberry Tart
Well, it's underway! I've made the first recipe in the book, Pate a foncer speciale. Translates into special tart dough. I have 3 pieces of dough waiting for filling. The plan was to make a raspberry tart. It requires tart dough (check), raspberries (check), apricot jam (check) and pastry cream (AAARRRGGHH!) I just finished making the pastry cream for the 3rd time, keep your fingers crossed, it must work (I've run out of cornstarch) Undercooked the first time, overcooked the second time, possible undercooked again. This is the point though, right? Perhaps by the 6th or 7th time I would have figured it out and I'll be a pro. Overcooked pastry cream is still yummy, although it doesn't look as pretty. I ate too much of it yesterday and gave myself a stomachache. I promise to take a picture of the final result, whenever I get there. Thank goodness this tart dough can be frozen!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Geez, it's been a while!
Bad blogger! Bad blogger! I know, the excuses are too many! How do you expect people to read this if you never post anything new? So say the voices in my head and they are right. But here we are. Part of the problem is the lack of anything to write about. But I may have come up with a solution.
I've been inspired (for a long time, now) by Julia Child. Not at all by her fame, but how she found something she was passionate in, and followed it, rules be damned! She was a native Californian who didn't know how to cook and met her husband overseas while they worked for the government during WWII. They married and moved to France a short time later, when she was 36. Her first meal in France was truly life changing for her and she decided to learn how to cook like the French and, very slowly, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was born. Her story is very inspiring and if you want to read more, read, My Life in France. It was written by her grand-nephew, Alex Prud'homme. Fascinating book, I've read it many times over. There are no recipes in there, just neat stories. This of course led me to read Julie and Julia, about the woman who decides to cook her way through Mastering the Art in one year.
Now, I am in the ballpark of 80-something cookbooks. I need to do something with those besides let them collect dust! I have a book (tome, really) from my mother-in-law, called Mastering the Art of French Pastry. It was written in the 80's by Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat, an American and a Frenchman. I graduated from pastry school 10 years ago, I may be getting a bit rusty in the technique department. Soon I'm going to have a little more time to practice when school starts in the fall, and I need a project that will knock some of the rust off. Why not choose Julia's book? I'm an extremely picky eater. No way would I ever eat brains or offal, and I have no intention of trying to find them in a specialty store. Call me closed minded or anything else. But give me a fresh homemade croissant with real butter, baked to a dark, crisp perfection and I'm in heaven. OK, maybe add a little chocolate. If anyone reading this is in my neighborhood and smells the yummy smells coming from my house, come on over. You can't expect me to eat them all can you? And you want to keep reading, right?
I've been inspired (for a long time, now) by Julia Child. Not at all by her fame, but how she found something she was passionate in, and followed it, rules be damned! She was a native Californian who didn't know how to cook and met her husband overseas while they worked for the government during WWII. They married and moved to France a short time later, when she was 36. Her first meal in France was truly life changing for her and she decided to learn how to cook like the French and, very slowly, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was born. Her story is very inspiring and if you want to read more, read, My Life in France. It was written by her grand-nephew, Alex Prud'homme. Fascinating book, I've read it many times over. There are no recipes in there, just neat stories. This of course led me to read Julie and Julia, about the woman who decides to cook her way through Mastering the Art in one year.
Now, I am in the ballpark of 80-something cookbooks. I need to do something with those besides let them collect dust! I have a book (tome, really) from my mother-in-law, called Mastering the Art of French Pastry. It was written in the 80's by Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat, an American and a Frenchman. I graduated from pastry school 10 years ago, I may be getting a bit rusty in the technique department. Soon I'm going to have a little more time to practice when school starts in the fall, and I need a project that will knock some of the rust off. Why not choose Julia's book? I'm an extremely picky eater. No way would I ever eat brains or offal, and I have no intention of trying to find them in a specialty store. Call me closed minded or anything else. But give me a fresh homemade croissant with real butter, baked to a dark, crisp perfection and I'm in heaven. OK, maybe add a little chocolate. If anyone reading this is in my neighborhood and smells the yummy smells coming from my house, come on over. You can't expect me to eat them all can you? And you want to keep reading, right?
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