Saturday, August 11, 2007

Champiñones rellenos

de Patty Alfaro

Se desinfectan los champiñones, se destroncan y se rellenan de queso filadelfia. Aparte se espuman claras de huevo para el capeado. Los champiñones se empanizan de harina primero, luego se remojan en la espuma y se empanizan otra vez, esta vez con pan molido. Se fríen luego en aceite hasta que queden dorados.

Pasta de brócoli

de Patty Alfaro

Se prepara la pasta y se pone aparte. En una sartén, se calienta mantequilla con un poco de ajo exprimido. Se agrega el brócoli, y después el tomate y el pimiento morrón. Después se revuelve con la pasta y se agrega queso parmesano.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Hazelnut Coffee Dacquoise

The Red Hot Chili Paper

Hazelnut Meringue (prepare 1 day ahead)

6 egg whites
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups toasted ground hazelnuts

Butter Cream Filling (2 cups)

3/4 cup sweet butter, softened
7/8 cup confectioner's (icing) sugar
3 egg yolks (optional)*
1/2 cup Kahlua
2 large fresh mangos**


Directions:

Meringue: Beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Add salt and cream of tartar. Beat in 4 tbsp. of sugar, one at a time. The mixture should be stiff and glossy. Mix the remaining sugar with the ground hazelnuts an fold into the mixture. Preheat oven to not more than 200 (or "warm" setting) Grease and flour 2 baking sheets. Drop a heaping tablespoon of mixture onto baking mixture to form a meringue half. Makes 13 halves - one for tasting :-) Bake for 1 - 2 hours until set. Turn off heat and leave in warm oven for 2 hours.
Butter Cream Filling: Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. *Egg yolks make it smoother and creamier but if you have hesitations about using raw egg leave it out - the cream is still fine.
Assembly: Spread butter cream between 2 meringues making a "sandwich". Decorate with whipped cream or more butter cream and whole hazelnuts. Garnish with fresh mangoes. ** Obviously any type of fruit can be used here as a garnish!

Strawberry Balsamic Truffles

wikiHow

* 11 oz 70% cocoa content quality chocolate
* 1 cup of cream (or half and half)
* 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
* 1/4 cup of dehydrated strawberries
* 1 tsp of cornstarch
* Additional dark, high quality chocolate for coating truffles

To Make the Truffles

1. Break up 11 ounces of the chocolate into smaller pieces. Place pieces into a food processor and whirl into fine bits.
2. Bring 1 cup of cream (or half and half) to a simmer.
3. Remove cream from heat before adding 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the hot cream. Don’t be alarmed, as the vinegar will immediately cause the cream to curdle. This is a natural reaction.
4. Pour the hot cream into the food processor already filled with chocolate bits and pulse for 15 seconds. You have just created what is known as "ganache".
5. Pour the ganache into a glass loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool at room temperature. The truffle ganache will set to a firm consistency. Refrigerate for several hours, well covered.
6. Prepare the truffles after allowing the ganache to set for several hours. Scoop out portions with a small ice cream scooper; create thumb tip sized truffle pieces.
7. Round down the edges of your truffle pieces, using your fingertips. You should aim to make the little truffle balls as smooth as possible. Think of truffle chocolates you have eaten before to get the proportions in your mind.

To Coat the Truffles in a Layer of Fine Chocolate

1. Prepare a double boiler. Heat finely chopped quality dark chocolate until just barely melted. Remove from the heat and stir. Add a couple tablespoons more of finely chopped chocolate and continue stirring until this second addition of chocolate is melted in. The melted chocolate mixture should be just smooth and barely warm, not hot.
2. Place a spoonful of melted chocolate in the palm of your hand. Place one of your truffle pieces in the puddle of chocolate. Swirl the truffle piece around to coat it entirely. The resulting shell of chocolate can be quite thin; in fact, it is preferable to make it as thin as possible.
3. Prepare the dehydrated strawberries. If your dehydrated strawberries are not already in powdered form, you will need to either blend them or crush them in a mortar and pestle to create a powder. To keep the fruit powder nice and loose, add 1 tsp of corn starch and stir. If they are already in powdered form, proceed to the next step.
4. Drop the chocolate-coated truffle into the bowl of strawberry powder. Shake gently to coat. If preferred, use the tines of a fork to gently push the truffle around in the powder.
5. Allow the outer shell to set before gently spooning the powdered truffle out of the powdered strawberry mixture. Place the finished truffle onto a non-stick surface to finish firming up.
6. Serve or deliver as gift complete with box, cellophane wrap and a beautiful big bow. Don't forget to include a card telling the recipient that you made them.

Tips
* If your ice cream scooper makes truffles that are too big, you can cut them in half.
* Ganache is a French cooking term. It refers to the mixture that is created when heavy cream and chocolate are combined; the delightful part that makes up the truffle.
* If you have a hot kitchen, find a cool space for the ganache to set.
* A double boiler is also known as a bain - marie for those familiar with French cooking terms. Glass double boilers are superb for chocolate making but you can improvise if necessary, with a saucepan sitting in another saucepan, surrounded by water.

Chocolate Truffles

wikiHow

* 8 3/4 oz dark chocolate (see Tips)
* 5 1/2 fl oz cream
* 1 1/4 oz unsalted butter
* 2 3/4 oz dark cocoa powder
* 2 Tbsp water
* 2 1/8 pt water

# Prepare the double boiler (also known as a bain marie). Place a medium cooking pan in a high heat and pour around 1 litre of water. Bring the water to a simmer.
# Place the chocolate bar on a chopping board and cut or break it into squares. Usually, following the lines on the chocolate will suffice, unless the bar is divided into very large pieces.
# Add 2 tablespoons of water into the pan (to help the chocolate melt--this is optional, as some people believe doing this encourages the chocolate to seize, as described in the Warnings) and then put the chocolate pieces in.
# Place the small cooking pan containing the chocolate into the medium one (containing the water).
# Stir constantly as the chocolate melts. This step should take around 8 minutes.
# Add the cream gently and combine well to make the ganache. Do not remove the pan from heat; keep it at melting temperature and continue stirring until the cream is completely mixed with the chocolate.
# Remove the pan from the heat source and leave it to rest until cool.
# Add the butter.

* Bring the water to a simmer again and place the pan containing the ganache on the heat once more.
* Add the butter and stir to fully melt it. When done, turn the heat off and remove the pan.

# Pour the ganache into a large bowl using the spatula to remove the rest from the pan. Line the surface of the ganache with plastic wrap (this prevents a film from developing at the surface). Put the bowl in the fridge until the mixture is stiff (about an hour).
# Make the truffles.

* Take the bowl from the fridge and place it in the work surface.
* Place the cocoa powder into the medium bowl.
* Use a melon baller, small ice cream scoop, or teaspoon to get small amounts of the ganache.
* Make small balls, rolling them into the palm of your hands as quickly as possible before they melt too much.
* Put them into the bowl with the cocoa powder and roll around until they are coated.
* Place the truffles into a serving bowl or on a tray.

Tips:

* You can experiment with different flavors and coatings.

o You can stir in small amounts of flavoring (like liqueur) after the ganache is prepared but before it is cooled in the fridge, and you can coat the truffles in a wide variety of coatings other than cocoa powder such as nuts, cinnamon, powdered sugar and coconut.
o You can boil flavorings into the cream. Get creative using different kinds of tea flavors like chai or earl grey. You can also boil in jam or add herbs to the cream and then strain it before adding it to the chocolate.
o Another good way to add flavor is to stir it in with the butter, but this only works for flavorings with butter-like consistency, like peanut butter.
* To give the truffles a hard, outer coating, you will need to learn how to temper chocolate, which is an advanced technique beyond the scope of this article.
* As you're scooping the ganache, work quickly or else the ganache will get too warm and start sticking to the scooping device and your hands, reducing the amount of chocolate that makes it into your truffles. If necessary, make the truffles in batches, putting the bowl back into the fridge to re-chill before starting again.
* Use the best chocolate you can find. If you're going to make decadent chocolate truffles, don't skimp by using cheap, ridiculously sweet brands. Cheap baking bars are usually packed with extra sugar and can make for a grainy ganache. Some high quality brands worth trying are: Michel Cluizel, Perugina, Wedel, Domori, Amedei, Valrhona, Neuhaus, Marcolini, Lindt, Felchlin, Guittard, Scharffen Berger, Santander, Malagasy, Weiss, El Rey, Theo, Bonnat, Pralus, Castelain, Slitti, Dagoba, Green and Black's, and Ghirardelli.
* Some traditional recipes do not use butter. To try it, follow the steps above, with only a few differences:

o Chop the chocolate into finer pieces, preferably shards.
o Boil the cream before adding it to the chocolate.
* The chocolate to cream ratio should always be around 2:1.