THE TRIPLE WONDERS OF GANACHE

Last year, I decorated Bella's birthday cake with hot pink frosting, candy cane powder, and 50 mini chocolate cookies. The year before that was a four-tiered light pink cake with roses and a disco ball. Very over the top. Both designed by Bella and decorated by me. This year Bella turned seven. I let go and let her decorate her own cake.

Here's her design. With a bit of back and forth we determined it was to be a three-tiered vanilla bean cake with ganache glaze and white chocolate flowers.

I'm often frustrated with frosting. Buttercream is way too rich and time consuming (I never have a pound of room temperature unsalted butter just sitting around).  Powdered sugar icings can be sickly sweet. I could eat a whole tub of cream cheese icing but it doesn't work on everything. That's why ganache is so genius. As long as you have good quality chocolate and some heavy cream, you're set.

In keeping with this month's theme of taking one recipe and using it multiple ways, we used ganache for three different birthday treats.

1. POURABLE OR SPREADABLE GANACHE GLAZE

Bella glued the three layers together with ganache glaze. Then she poured the glaze ALL OVER. A little spreading, a little patching, and she was ready to add flowers made from melted white chocolate.  The cake we used was a very dense white chocolate vanilla bean cake. In retrospect, not the right combination with the ganache glaze. But the kids gobbled it up. I would recommend a lighter white cake to which you could add lots of vanilla bean.

Add more chocolate and less cream if you want a glaze that's more spreadable. More spreadable was much easier for Bella to work with but you do lose that slick and even finish that you get with the pourable ganache glaze.

2. WHIPPED GANACHE FROSTING:

Cool the ganache glaze, whip it up for a minute, and you get ganache frosting.  It's lighter in texture and color, even more spreadable, and not glossy. If you like the glossy look you can quickly torch the top with a blow torch or mini kitchen torch. Yes I have a blow torch (for creme brulées) but I couldn't find it. (Who borrowed my blow torch? I want it back.) Instead, I popped them in a hot oven for 5 seconds. You can see the lone cupcake with the candle has a glossy top. A nicer look for a photo but it's not necessary.

The yellow cupcake recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. It's my all-time favorite. I follow every step as written. The only change I make is to undercook them a bit so that the center is a bit gooey. It's worth becoming a member of their site just to get this recipe. You can also do a free 14-day trial. I swear I don't work for Cooks Illustrated. I'm just so grateful for all rigorous testing that they do. This recipe is all over the web with errors. Go right to the source.

3. CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES:

Chill the ganache, scoop and roll into balls, dredge in unsweetened cocoa, and you've got chocolate truffles. Dash dropped his truffle right into his mug of camomile tea. Very sad.

BASIC GANACHE:printable recipe

This makes enough glaze for one 9 inch cake OR frosting for 24 cupcakes OR about 20 truffles. Some people add a bit of butter or corn syrup to help with the sheen, but I find the chocolate and the cream to be enough on their own.

- 6-9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped or shredded into small pieces with a heavy chef knife—use less chocolate for a pourable glaze (6-7 ounces); use a bit more chocolate for spreadable glaze, whipped frosting, or truffles (8 or 9 ounces)

- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon cognac or vanilla (optional)

Place chopped chocolate into a large heat resistant bowl. Bring cream up to the boil. Turn off heat. Pour cream over the chocolate. Cover bowl with a plate or plastic wrap. Stir after 5 minutes. Cover for another 5 minutes. Stir again until it's smooth. (Alternatively, you can pulverize the chocolate in a food processor, pour over the hot cream, and mix until smooth.) At this point you can add a bit of cognac or vanilla if you want.

1. For Ganache Glaze (pourable or spreadable): Let ganache cool to room temperature. Make sure your cake is cool as well. Place the cake on a rack over a sheet pan so that the excess chocolate drips onto the sheet pan. Pour over the glaze. You can help guide the chocolate down the sides with an offset spatula or a knife. Let set for a few hours. Or refrigerate for 20 minutes and then pour on another layer of glaze (this would require you to make half again as much ganache). You can store it 2 days at room temp or up to 10 days in the fridge.

2. For Whipped Ganache Frosting: Let ganache cool in the fridge for a few hours. Stir every 20 minutes or so. Don't let it harden. When it is cold and thick, whisk for about a minute in a mixer or by hand. If you overwhip it you can melt, cool, and then whip it again. You can store is for no more than a day at room temp or up to 5 days in the fridge. It goes bad faster once it's whipped.

3. For Chocolate Truffles: Let ganache harden in the fridge overnight. Scoop out a tablespoon size of ganache and roll it into a ball with your hands. Repeat with the rest of the ganache. You can place cocoa in a bag and add the truffles balls after you roll them. Gently shake bag to coat with cocoa. Keep refrigerated.

MULTI-USE FETA PESTO

Here's a challenge: come up with a simple recipe that tastes good enough on its own but at the same time can be a component in many different recipes. I tried to do this by making Chunky Pesto with Feta, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Parsley, and Pine Nuts. I used it successfully in four different dishes. Plus I just scooped it out of the jar and ate it by itself. It's a deconstructed pesto in that you don't blend it. When you dump the hot pine nuts on top of the cheese mixture they sizzle like sizzling rice soup. Here are the four ways we used it:

1. On grilled bread.

2. Mixed in with pasta.

3. Served over roast chicken.

4. In a root vegetable tart.

The grilled bread and pasta dishes are straightforward (see below for simple recipes). And it is great as a topping on almost any meat. Here's the story of how the pesto ended up in a tart.

Because of our Full Belly Farm CSA box, I always have a big bin of root vegetables. Last week I had carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, and delicata squash. I was in the mood to cut vegetables. I ended up with a huge pile of vegetables and no idea what to do with them. I figured I'd better cook them so I threw them all on a sheet pan with some unpeeled garlic cloves, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. I cranked the heat up to 425°F. About halfway through the cooking time I pulled the tray out of the oven to check on the vegetables and Dash asked, "That for a tart? Yummy tart." Great idea. So we made our first tart of the decade.

It might have been good with just the vegetables, but I was worried it would be a bit dry. Plus, I wanted it to be more of a meal instead of a side dish.  I had a big jar of chunky feta pesto that I'd made the day before. Dash smeared the bottom of the tart shell with the pesto. Then he scooped on the partially roasted vegetables.

He grated lots of parmesan cheese on top.  I told Dash he owed me a dollar because he bit off the ENTIRE tip of the parmesan cheese. He went and got me some plastic money and apologized.

Before baking the tart we made a little pile of roast garlic in the center.

"That's my tart. MY tart." said Dash.

RECIPES:

CHUNKY PESTO WITH FETA, SUN DRIED TOMATOES, PARSLEY, AND PINE NUTS printable recipe

(makes 2 cups)

-1 1/4 cups crumbled feta cheese

-10 sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

-handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

-3 tablespoons olive oil

-1/2 clove garlic, minced or pressed or grated

-juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

-big pinch of salt

-a few turns of pepper

-1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted and hot 

In a bowl, mix together feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, garlic, lemon zest/juice, salt and pepper.  Toast pine nuts in the oven or in a pan on the stove until they smell nutty and are lightly browned. Mix hot nuts in with the cheese mixture. Taste for seasoning. Let it sit for a minute and then taste again.

4 THINGS TO DO WITH CHUNKY PESTO:

1. GRILLED BREAD WITH CHUNKY PESTO

printable recipe

-sliced bread

-garlic clove, peeled and whole

-chunky pesto

-olive oil

-crunchy salt

Toast or grill the bread. When it's still hot rub the garlic clove all over one side of each slice. The garlic will almost melt into the bread. Top with pesto, olive oil, and salt.

2. PASTA WITH CHUNKY PESTO

printable recipe

(serves 2)

-1 cup of chunky pesto

-1/2 teaspoon salt 

-1/2 pound  of pasta

-parmesan

-1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Place pesto in a large bowl. Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Add salt. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve a mug of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Pour drained pasta over pesto. Add a tablespoon of the pasta water. Mix. If it's too dry add more pasta water and mix again. Grate parmesan cheese on top. Eat right away.

3. AS A TOPPING FOR CHICKEN, LAMB, OR STEAK

4. ROOT VEGETABLE TART WITH CHUNKY PESTO 

printable recipe

Many root vegetables have different cooking times. Don't worry about this. It's actually nice to have different textures in this tart. Use an 8, 9, or 10 inch tart pan. This tart would also be really good on puff pastry (easier too if store bought). My great chef friend Michael just let me know that the skin on late season delicata squash can be very tough -- use at your own risk or peel it to be safe. September/October/November delicata should be fine with the skin on.

-1 1/2 cups chunky pesto

-1 recipe basic shortcrust pastry dough (read here for tips), disc refrigerated 

-any combination of root vegetables including: delicata squash (skin on), carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, spring onions, shallots -- (about 4 cups vegetables total)

-10 cloves garlic

-4 tablespoons olive oil

-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

-2 springs thyme

-1 sprig rosemary

-salt

-pepper

-parmesan

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Peel the vegetables (unless it's delicata squash). Chop up vegetables into chunks that are approximately the same size (about the size of a quarter). Peel and slice the onions or shallots if using them. Leave the garlic unpeeled. Toss everything together on a sheet pan. Drizzle over some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add herbs and season generously with salt and pepper. Toss again until all vegetables are coated. Roast in the oven until vegetables are just getting tender but not mushy. Toss them around every 15 minutes or so. It's okay for them to caramelize and get crispy, maybe even the tips will burn a bit. This will take 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, roll out pastry dough, press into a 9 inch tart pan. Trim or press off edges. Refrigerate.

Once the vegetables are out of the oven, turn it down to 350°F. When oven temperature has dropped, bake tart shell until it just starts to smell nutty and buttery (about 10-12 minutes). Remove from oven. Leave oven on. If your children are assembling the tart let it cool for a few minutes (otherwise go right ahead with the hot shell). Spread pesto evenly all over the bottom of the shell. Place partially roasted vegetables on top of the pesto. Put all the roasted garlic cloves in a pile in the center. Grate lots of parmesan all over the top of the tart. Bake for 30 minutes or so until the cheese and the tart shell are nicely browned.

RECIPE COUNTDOWN TO 2010: NUMBER 1 PLUS HAPPY NEW YEAR

Phew! I made it. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

When I told a friend 2 weeks ago that I was going to try to do a post a day until the end of the year she looked a little concerned. "Seems like a lot of work," she said. "Oh, it will be fun." I said. They will all be short."

I would like to thank Yo Gabba Gabba!, Max and Ruby, The Sound of Music, and my husband for giving me the time to do these posts.

In doing this mad recipe dash to the new year I stumbled a bit...

1. I left the sugar out of the sugar cookie recipe and put too much butter in the shortcrust recipe.

2. I stayed up until 1 am working on the shortcrust pastry post.

3. I had to get up at 5 am the morning after the shortcrust pastry post AND be a nice parent.

4. Two days ago I was officially sick of cooking. So I ate frozen pizza. But by the morning I was ready to make a pie.

5. My husband told me (lovingly) I was becoming an obsessive blogger.

On the other hand...

1. I am getting faster at putting a story together.
2. Recipes are flowing more easily now.
3. I have many new recipes that I can now call my own. Satisfying to own a recipe. Who knew?
4. Dash still asks me every morning, "What we gonna cook today?"

It really means a lot that you all are reading, commenting, trying the recipes, and giving me feedback. It feels like it is all adding up to something. Thank you.  See you in a week or so with Bella's three-tiered birthday cake. She is designing it as we speak.

Here's the list of recipes from the Recipe Countdown to 2010 in case you missed one.

10: Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

9: Caramelized Sweet Potato Tart

8: Grilled Cotswold Cheese Sandwich with Cilantro-Parsley Pesto

7: Squash and Carrot Soup

6: Cremini Mushroom Salad with Asparagus, Aged Gouda and Lemon Vinaigrette

5: Shortcrust Pastry

4: Vanilla Bean Refrigerator Cookies

3: Chanterelle and Gruyere Tart

2: Iceberg Wedge Salad with Buttermilk Roquefort Dressing

AND...

NUMBER 1: LAMB PIE

We made this pie several times over the past few weeks. Dash likes to help assemble it. We put slices of cheddar cheese directly beneath the top crust.

Make sure you use a deep pie or cake pan. Let your kids decorate the top of the pie with scraps. Here are two of the pies we made this month. You could also do mini pies in ramekins.

All the components for this pie freeze really well. You can freeze the pastry dough and the cooled lamb filling. You can even half-bake the pie, cool it, and then freeze it. Or make a shepherd's pie by omitting the pastry dough and spreading mashed potatoes on top of the filling. Bake until potatoes are golden brown.

We've put yogurt and pomegranates on everything this winter— from stews to curries to pies. There's something wonderful about the cool and sour yogurt with the sweet explosive pomegranate seeds. Our dog agreed.

LAMB PIE: printable recipe 

Use a deep pie plate or cake pan that's around 9 inches.

for the shortcrust pastry (check out tips):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks and very cold
6-12 tablespoons ice water 

for the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 bay leaf

1 can (14.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes in their juices
1 cup frozen peas

8 slices of sharp cheddar cheese (or enough to cover filling)
1 egg

1 tablespoon heavy cream or half and half 

for the dough:

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into 1/2 inch square chunks and toss into dry ingredients. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the butter chunks are the size of peas. Add half the cold water and mix it in with a fork. Add more water if you need to, enough so that when you squeeze the mixture in your fingers it's just moist enough to form a dough. Split mixture into 2 piles on 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Use the sides of the plastic wrap to press each pile of dough into a 1 inch high disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling them out.

Roll out one disc of dough until it's a bit bigger than your pie dish. Place shell in dish firmly (leave edges untrimmed for now) and put it the fridge. Roll out the other piece of dough until it's about the same size. Place on a sheet pan in the fridge until your filling is ready. Cover the dough with plastic wrap if it's going to be more than an hour.

for the filling:

Heat large saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle in olive oil. Add onion. Add salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until onions are translucent. Press or grate in garlic and cook for one minute stirring constantly. Add ground lamb and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook while stirring until lamb is no longer pink (about 5 minutes). Add tomato paste, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and bay leaf.  Cook for about 20 minutes to bring the flavors together and to reduce down the liquid. Remove the bay leaf. Turn off the heat and stir in the frozen peas. You can let it cool all the way and put in the refrigerator or freezer until later or bake the pie right away. The filling doesn't have to be cool when you bake the tart.

assembly:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Remove pie pan from fridge. Pour lamb filling into the shell. Place cheddar slices all over the top of the filling. Place rolled out pie shell on top of the filling and cheese. Pinch the top and bottom shells together with your fingers or a fork. You can make scalloped edges with your thumb. You can even put a fancy pattern on top of the dough with the dough scraps. Whisk egg with cream or half and half. Paint the top of the pie with a thin layer of the egg mixture. Slice a few decorative holes on top of the pie for steam to escape. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 60-75 minutes.

Serve just the way it is. Or serve with yogurt and pomegranate seeds.

Variations:

1. Make mini pies in ramekins.

2. To make shepherd's pie: omit pastry crust and instead cover the cheese and lamb filling with mashed potatoes. Bake until potatoes are golden brown.

RECIPE COUNTDOWN TO 2010: NUMBER 2

NUMBER 2: ICEBERG WEDGE SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK ROQUEFORT DRESSING

For weeks I've been craving this salad. I finally made it yesterday just for me. Make sure you have a pitcher of extra dressing on the table. There was no one around, so I licked the plate.

ICEBERG WEDGE SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK ROQUEFORT DRESSING: printable recipe

I discovered that this dressing tastes even better the next day. And I did like it better with a bit of mayonnaise, but you can certainly leave it out.

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/3 clove grated or pressed garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon white wine or champagne vinegar

4 tablespoons olive oil

4-6 tablespoons crumbled Roquefort cheese

2 tablespoons buttermilk (preferably full fat)

1 teaspoon dijon mustard OR Colman's mustard powder

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (optional)

big pinch salt

pepper to taste

handful of parsley,  roughly chopped.

crispy bacon (optional topping)

Place chopped shallot, lemon juice, zest, and vinegar in a bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Whisk in cheese, buttermilk, mustard, mayonnaise (if using), salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust to your liking. (I needed to add more lemon and more salt.) Set aside for a few minutes and then taste again. It's amazing how the flavors shift as they integrate. You could also make it easy and throw it all in the blender. I don't use the blender for this because I like having the chunks of cheese and shallots.

Serve over wedges of iceberg or heart of romaine. Top with parsley. Place cooked bacon slices on either side of the wedge. Serve with extra dressing in a pitcher.

RECIPE COUNTDOWN TO 2010: NUMBER 3

NUMBER 3: CHANTERELLE AND GRUYERE TART

My brother gave my parents and me a huge basket of chanterelles mushrooms for Christmas. He has some secret spot in the hills of Berkeley where he finds them. I used to worry that he might kill us all with some bogus mushrooms. But I've grown up and now I trust him. After all, he eats them every year with his friends. And with my parents. And no one has ever gotten sick. Turns out he is an expert forager.

My brother cooks his chanterelles the same way every year and he challenged us to do something different. I've never cooked chanterelles. For some reason gruyère cheese kept popping into my head. It was down to a lasagna or a tart. My mom and I decided to collaborate on a tart.

Dash and I looked at each mushroom close up. He couldn't believe how dirty they were.

Three things I learned from my mom and brother about chanterelles mushrooms:

1. To clean them just do a quick dunk in water, a brush off with the vegetable brush, and then a speedy final rinse. Dry them really well. Never soak the mushrooms.

2. Instead of chopping chanterelles you can tear them very easily along their vertical seams. 

3. Tons of liquid comes out when they're first heated up. You can do a dry sauté or a sauté in oil and onions like we did. Just take the time to let the liquid come out. You can set the mushroom broth aside and use it for risotto or soup. Or you can just reduce it down.

My brother took his first bite of the tart and looked ecstatic. After his third bite he said he thought it was so good that he might cry. Keep in mind that my brother has a new baby and he is sleep deprived. But still, I think this tart was out of this world delicious.

CHANTERELLE AND GRUYERE TART: printable recipe

Inspired by "Cozy Comfort Food" published by Sunset Magazine in 2009. 
Don't soak the mushrooms in water to clean them. They just need a quick dip in the water, a brush off with the vegetable brush, and a speedy final rinse. Dry them very well.


Ingredients

shortcrust pastry (check out tips):

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (one stick), very cold and cut into 1/4 inch square chunks

3-6 tablespoons ice water 

filling:

3 tablespoons butter

2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 pound chanterelles mushrooms (cleaned and dried), pulled apart at vertical seams or sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1-2 tablespoons madeira, sherry or dry port 

1 teaspoon salt 

pepper to taste

1 cup gruyere cheese, grated

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons whipping cream 

Directions

for the pastry:

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into 1/2 inch square chunks and toss into dry ingredients. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the butter chunks are the size of peas. Add half the cold water and mix it in with a fork. Add more water if you need to, enough so that when you squeeze the mixture in your fingers it's just moist enough to form a dough. Pour dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the sides of the plastic wrap to press the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling it out.  

Set oven for 375º F. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 12 inch round.  Place into a 9 1/2 inch tart shell and press off the edges. Cook the shell for 20-30 minutes until golden. 

for the filling: 
Sauté the leeks and onion in the butter until soft, about 3 minutes.  Turn heat to high and add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have given off their liquid, 5-10 minutes. Stir in the thyme, alcohol, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Take off the heat. 

assembly:

Spread half the grated gruyere over the bottom of the pre-baked tart shell. Spread the mushroom filling on top of the cheese and then add then sprinkle the remaining gruyere and the parmesan cheese on top of the filling. Drizzle the cream over the top of the tart. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden, about 25-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

RECIPE COUNTDOWN TO 2010: NUMBER 4

NUMBER 4: VANILLA BEAN REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

"Momma, boys drink tea."

"Yes, they do Dashi."
He continued, "Boys don't drink latte. Or chai. Or coffee. Or cars."

So we drove home and had tea with fresh-baked vanilla bean cookies.

We took the log of dough out of the freezer, painted it with egg, and rolled it in the vanilla sugar. Then we sliced it up and baked the cookies.

It's hard to stop eating warm cookies but I did finally have to say, "No more." This did not go over well.

VANILLA BEAN REFRIGERATOR COOKIES:

printable recipe

(Adapted from Cinnamon Sablés from David Bouley's "East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube")

In this recipe I've put the minimum amount of vanilla and vanilla bean necessary. Feel free to double or triple the amount. Don't use vanilla bean paste in these cookies because they will be too sweet. They're best eaten the day they're made although they will keep for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can refrigerate the dough for up to a week or freeze it for many months if it's well wrapped. Don't coat them with egg and sugar until right before you bake them. Makes about 32 cookies.

Ingredients
for the cookie dough:

2  cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, unsalted and room temperature
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean (slice bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds)
1 egg

for the sugar coating:
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean (slice bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds)

Directions

Whisk flour and salt together and set aside. In a mixer or by hand cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Mix until you can see that the seeds are evenly distributed. Scrape down sides and add the egg. Mix for 5 seconds. Add flour and salt mixture in 3 batches, mixing briefly and scraping down after each addition.

Scrape the dough out onto a long piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, roll the dough out into a log 2" in diameter. Leave it a round cylinder or if you prefer square cookies you can flatten all four sides into a square cylinder. Put the log into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Put granulated sugar on a flat surface like a big plate or platter (or directly onto your counter). With your fingers mix in the vanilla bean seeds until evenly distributed. This takes a few minutes. Whisk the egg in a bowl. Remove dough from fridge and plastic wrap and cut into 2 smaller logs. Paint the first log all over with the beaten egg EXCEPT for the 2 exposed ends. Roll the log in the vanilla sugar until well-coated. There is very little sugar in this cookie dough so make sure you get a nice layer on the log. You can even press it in a bit with your fingers. With a serrated knife carefully slice the cookies 1/2" thick. Place cookies on a nonstick sheet pan (or use a silpat or parchment paper). White the first batch cooks, repeat egg and sugar coating with 2nd log. Keep an eye on the cookies after they've been in the oven about 8 minutes. Take them out when the cookies are just set and the sugar begins to brown along the edges. Cool completely on the sheet pan or the sugar coating will crack off. Eat right away.

RECIPE COUNTDOWN TO 2010: NUMBER 5

NUMBER 5: SHORTCRUST PASTRY

Tomorrow I'm going to post recipes for lamb pie and chanterelles tart. But first I thought I'd talk a bit about shortcrust pastry. You can buy a frozen tart shell at the supermarket. Often they are quite good. But if you have time to do one at home it's pretty straightforward.

Kids love dough. Even when it's just flour, salt, butter, and water. It's just like working with clay. And it tastes so much better. Give your kids the scraps to taste and use to make their own mini-tarts. Last week Dash and Bella did one with strawberry jam.

For the first time in (almost) 40 years I can make shortcrust pastry dough for a tart, galette, or pie without referring to a recipe. I have my own recipe. A template. Very satisfying. I might add cornmeal and pepper to one or vanilla and lemon zest to another.  But it's basically the same each time. Here's a bit of what I've learned.

TIPS:
1. When you first start making this dough you'll learn more if you do it by hand. It's hard to overmix when you're doing it by hand. I can't tell you how many times I've over-pulsed dough with the Cuisinart. It's really hard to see what's going on in there. Get your hands into the dough instead.
2. To incorporate the butter into the flour mixture you need to squeeze the butter and flour between your fingers quite vigorously, as if you're trying to snap your fingers.
3. Use very cold butter and liquid.
4. Make the dough ahead of time so that it can chill in the fridge for at least an hour before you roll it out.

STEPS:
1. Combine the dry ingredients.
 2. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch square chunks. Mix in the butter until the dough looks like coarse cornmeal with pea-sized chunks.
 3. Add some of the cold liquid. Lightly mix with your fingers or a fork.  Press a bit of the dough together between your fingers. You want it to just come together into a dough. Add more liquid if it's too dry.

4. Place onto a long piece of plastic wrap and use the sides of the plastic wrap to press the dough together and flatten into a disc. Look closely. You want to see chunks of butter.

5. Chill for at least an hour. Roll out using lots of flour on the board and rolling pin. Press into a tart pan, pie pan, or place flat onto a sheet pan for a galette.

VARIATIONS:

Once you get comfortable making this recipe you can play around a bit by adding the butter in 2 batches. Add the first half of butter to the flour mixture and mix until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Add second half of butter and mix it in until second half of butter looks like large peas. This makes the dough tender and flaky at the same time. Proceed with steps 4 and 5.

Play with adding different flavors depending on the filling. To the flour you could add: salt, pepper, lemon zest, cinnamon, sugar or cornmeal. You could replace some of the cold liquid with: milk, cream, vanilla, lemon juice, or orange juice.

BASIC SHORTCRUST PASTRY RECIPE:  
This works well for any recipe that calls for tart, double-crust pie, or galette dough. Just double the recipe and split into 2 even discs for double-crust pie dough.  It freezes really well for months.

printable recipe

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (one stick), cut into small chunks and very cold

3-6 tablespoons ice water

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into 1/2 inch square chunks and toss into dry ingredients. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the butter chunks are the size of peas. Add half the cold water and mix it in with a fork. Add more water if you need to, enough so that when you squeeze the mixture in your fingers it's just moist enough to form a dough. Pour dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the sides of the plastic wrap to press the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling it out.