Butter - A Love Story Continued

While living in France for six months, I took a trip to the beautiful northern town of St. Malo. While there, I observed my normal traveler's habits of eating my way through a town/region - thus, I had the express pleasure of sampling the regional delicacy known as the Kouign Amann. The Kouign Amann is a buttery, caramelized, crisp-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside, treat - it was love at first bite. I found David Lebovitz's recipe and off I went. For his full, buttery, well-tested recipe, click here.

My hand model pouring the yeast for the bread dough.

Poured the yeast, let it bubble and fizz, added flour, made dough, let it rise. I love the smell of yeast.

Added the butter and the first round of sugar

Endless fields of butter.

Fold the buttered and sugared dough into a neat little package. After letting it sit, roll it out once more, add a second round of sugar and fold back up.

 After chilling, roll the dough again, sprinkle with a final helping of sugar - et voila! you have a beautiful dessert. I could have maybe taken my kouign amann out a few minutes early but it was delicious nonetheless and I had no problem choking it down - neither did those around me.

For more Kouign Amann tales from Lebovitz read on here.

Indian Kick - Tandoori Chicken

 

Setting the scene: It was a perfect San Francisco summer day – 64 degrees and gray skies – and I had a craving for Indian. 

Display at the Alameda Flea Market

I am going to do my best to do a little series that made up my Indian extravaganza, starting with my Tandoori Chicken. Now, I did some serious research, as I didn't want to have a totally white-washed version of Tandoori Chicken . . . that being said I took some liberties and I definitely don't have a real Tandoor oven.

For a great post on Tandoori Chicken you can read about David Lebovitz's foray here. 

I started with 1 teaspoon coriander, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few shakes of cayenne. I combined the spices with 2 or 3 tablespoons minced ginger, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 sliced serrano chili, the juice of one lime and 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt. Once all the ingredients were mixed I poured the marinade over my 4 whole chicken legs and stuck it in the fridge to marinate. It should marinate for a nice long while (overnight is always good) but sometimes when you get a craving, you aren't able to plan that far ahead. I now know that the chicken turns out just fine if it only marinates for some hours. 

View of the city from Alameda

Pull the chicken out of the marinade and cook on a grill pan at high heat for about seven minutes a side. If the chicken isn't cooked through (as was the case when I made this) pop the chicken in a 400 degree oven for another few minutes (leaving it on the grill pan can result in the skin getting a nice char). 


For chicken accompaniments . . . stay tuned.

Panna Cotta with Cumquats & Stewed Rhubarb

In keeping with my adventures in new dishes, I decided to make my very first panna cotta. I did my research and was drawn to David Lebovitz's "Perfect Panna Cotta" recipe . . . but knowing that I was going to be eating most of this by myself I was a wee bit scared of all that cream so I decided to put off the big splurge and concoct a 'healthier' version.  

First I combined two tablespoons water, the juice of one lemon and 1 packet (about 1.5 teaspoons) gelatin in a little bowl. Stir to combine and then let it sit. (Below is a photo of me holding the bowl vertically and the gelatin kindly does its thing and stays in the bowl - very entertaining.)

In a medium sized bowl combine a heaping 2 cups of plain lowfat greek-style yogurt and 3/4 cup half and half. Stir and set aside. Next, in a saucepan combine 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup half and half and a skimpy cup of sugar. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add in your gelatin mixture. To complete, add the warm cream mixture to the yogurt mixture. Here's where I got a wee bit creative - owning no fancy molds or ramekins, I got out the ol' muffin tin, greased it up, and poured in my panna cotta (worked like a charm). Et voila! Je suis fini! Pop the panna cotta in the fridge and chill for 6 - 36 hours (whenever you finish 'em off).

To serve, my lovely mother made some stewed rhubarb (she put 4 stalks of rhubarb, in chunks, 1 cup of sugar and enough water to just about cover the rhubarb; simmer for 30-40 minutes until it is tender but not complete mush) and I popped out the panna cotta added some freshly sliced cumquats and drizzled with the stewed rhubarb. I thought it turned out pleasantly delicious - the panna cotta was creamy but not too heavy and it contrasted nicely with the flavorful rhubarb and tart cumquats. Next time, I will try the heavy-duty full cream version but this was a successful alternative if I do say so myself.