Gastronome Tart

How to Make Delicious Homemade Chicken Stock

With Thanksgiving upon us next week, if you are like most, you have been scrambling trying to put together everything for the annual feast (if you are cooking that is). 

Sometimes the smallest touches or tricks put out the best food and chicken stock is obviously one of those tricks. While I do understand that you can go to the store and pick up a carton full of the stuff, like most things homemade, making your own will help those dishes of yours stand out even further. Stuffing would obviously be one of them.

Many of my fellow reader's obviously already do this, however for those of you who are looking for a fool-proof stand by recipe that can be used time and time again, this recipe is for you. Enjoy!

 

Homemade Chicken Stock

Makes roughly 4 quarts

This recipe was adapted from Ina Garten's Family Style Cookbook to use up what you may already have in your kitchen. If you do not save chicken parts (backs, wings etc. I freeze mine for when I make this recipe) then please follow her full recipe here.

 Ingredients

4 Chicken backs and parts

2 Yellow onions, quartered

4 carrots, unpeeled, halved

3 celery stalks

10 sprigs fresh Italian Parsley

6 sprigs fresh Thyme

1 garlic head, unpeeled and cut in half

1.5 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients in a large stockpot. Add 7 quarts water (or enough to cover the ingredients) and bring to a boil. Skim any fat. Simmer uncovered for 4 hours.

2. Strain the entire contents of a pot through a colander lined with cheesecloth.

3. Chill the stock overnight. The next day, remove the surface fat.

4. Use immediately. Or freeze the stock in containers or put into cupcake pans using either 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup measurements and once frozen, pop them out and put into freezer bags stating what measurement they are. That way if you have a recipe that calls for chicken stock, you will always have some on hand. This chicken stock freezes well for up to 3 months.

Spiced Peach Butter & Canning 101

Canning has become quite popular in recent years and for good reason. Not only is it a desirable trait to be "green", but to be sustainable as well. Besides, who doesn't love going into their pantry in the dead of winter only to pull off their shelves a nice fruit sauce they had canned at the peak of the fruit's freshness or a veggie that would be the perfect accompaniment to that pot roast in the oven on a cold winter's night.

I didn't grow up canning because living in Arizona, there never seemed to be season's. So who cares if other parts of the country has tomatoes now? Besides, they always seemed to be around any time of the year when I was growing up.

Canning came to me a couple of years ago when I started my membership in our CSA. Since it was just Rob and I, my kitchen was bombarded with fresh fruits and vegetables galore. I am not one to waste anything and if I had to throw something out because I couldn't get around to cooking it, guilt would overcome me. So, I invested in a pressure cooker, canning tools and a bunch of mason jars and I have never looked back.

While many feel that canning is more effort than it is worth, I say it is just a few hours to have a fully stocked pantry that you stocked yourself. What better way to feed you and your family than with food that you may have grown yourself, bought at the farmer's market or your CSA with? 

Since I had a bunch of peaches leftover from our picking experience, I decided to make peach butter (as well as the pie and the Bourbon Peach Barbecue Sauce). I find that fruit seems to be the easiest to can due to the fact that the high acidity in the fruit helps inhibit the growth of bacteria. Thus you only have to use a hot water bath and not a pressure canner to process your jars. This makes it quite easy and also nerve free for those of us who are worried about pressure cooker's in general.

Canning Tips and Canning Peach Butter

Adapted from Ball Blue Book: Guide to Preserving

A must have for any new comer to canning! This book has been around for over 100 years and for good reason. It is a classic!

Ingredients

Yield: About 4 pints

4 to 4.5 pounds peaches (about 18 medium)

4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

To prepare pulp: Wash peaches and mark an X on the bottom of each peach. Blanch in hot water for about 10 seconds. Put peaches in cold water.

Peel the peaches. Peel, pit and slice the peaches.

 

Combine the peaches and 1/2 cup water in a large sauce pot. Simmer until peaches are soft.

Puree using a food processor or a food mill, being careful not to liquefy. Measure 2 quarts peach pulp.

To Make Butter:  Combine peach pulp and sugar in a large sauce pot. Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Stir in spices.

Ladle hot butter into jars

Leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. A headspace is an area left unfilled between the top of the food in a home canning jar or freezer container and the rim of the jar or freezer container. Remove any air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. A boiling-water canner is a kettle large enough to completely immerse and fully surround canning jars and two-piece caps with water. The boiling water canner is used for processing high-acid foods. Usually fruits.

 

Ta Da!

How to Make Puff Pastry & Cheese Straws

I absolutely love all things sweet. This past Lent season, I decided to forgo all sweets. Everything from chocolate to baked goods. It was a very hard feat as everyone who knows me understands that whenever there is any type of gathering, they always know that I will arrive with some sort of homemade goodies.

However, due to my void of all things sweet, I had to re-think my baking routine. There was many a time during these 40 days that I would page through cook books just looking at all the baking recipes, salivating and vowing that yes. I will make that...and that, and that!

One such recipe was for a Napoleon. Vanilla cream sandwiched in between layers of luscious puff pastry. I wanted to eat it directly off that page. Then I remembered I was fasting and the one thing I had do without would be exactly what was staring back at me from that cook book. That Napoleon. This then got me thinking. I wanted to bake, however, what could I tackle that didn't involve sweets?

That is when I came across this recipe for cheese straws made from homemade puff pastry. Now puff pastry is something that I have not yet made in my kitchen and to say I was a bit nervous, would be an understatement. How am I supposed to make such a flaky dough that would encompass 729 layers of goodness? This has got to be one recipe that I am for sure going to mess up.

To my surprise, puff pastry is surprisingly easy. Although it is time consuming. However, this recipe makes about 2 pounds of puff pastry which is good for several recipes. It freezes well so just like the store bought pastry, whenever you need some, just pull some out of your freezer and allow to thaw. Homemade puff pastry that is versatile from savory to sweet? There is nothing quite like it. Enjoy!

 Puff Pastry

Recipe from Martha Bakes

Ingredients

1 pound All-Purpose Flour (about 3 1/4 cups), plus more for dusting

2  cups (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1.Weigh the flour accurately. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Scrape this dough into a flat square about 1 inch thick. The square should measure about 5 inches by 5 inches. Wrap well in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes. 
 

2. In a large bowl, combine remaining flour with the salt. Gradually add the cream and mix until a rough dough is formed; it should not be sticky. Do not overmix. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 12 inches by 7 inches, wrap in plastic, and chill, at least 30 minutes.

3. Remove the flour dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Place the butter square at the bottom edge of the rectangle,

 
 
and fold the dough over to completely encase the butter, sealing the edges by pinching them together and forming tight hospital corners at the edges.Wrap well in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

 
 4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, gently pound the dough all over in regular intervals with a rolling pin.

Working in only one direction (lengthwise), gently roll the dough into a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, squaring corners with a bench scraper and your hands as you go.

Using a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. With a short side facing you, fold the rectangle in thirds like a business letter, aligning the edges carefully and keeping each edge square.  Turn the dough a quarter turn clockwise, so the flap opening faces right, like a book. This completes the first turn.

 
 
Pound across the dough, again in regular intervals, and roll out again to a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, rolling in the same lengthwise direction. Fold dough again into thirds. This completes the second turn. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

5. Repeat the rolling, turning, and chilling process for a total of six turns; always start each turn with the opening of the dough to the right, and always make your tri-fold in the same manner, that is, by starting from either the top of the dough or the bottom each time. By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Use as little flour as possible for the rolling and brush off any excess before folding the dough. If the dough becomes too elastic or too warm to work with, return it to the refrigerator until firm.

6. Wrap the finished dough in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 2 hours after your final turn, or freeze for future use.

* Make small indentations with your thumb in the dough at the end of each turn so you don't lose track of how many turns you've finished.

 
 Recipe Adapted from Martha Bakes
 

Ingredients

1 pound Puff Pastry, about 1/3 recipe

1 teaspoon paprika (optional)

1 cup finely grated Gruyere

2 tablespoons toasted poppy seeds

Directions

1. Prepare the Puff Pastry.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. If using, mix paprika with cheese. Sprinkle mixture on work surface. Roll puff pastry to a rectangle approximately 10 inches by 13 inches, pressing dough into cheese to adhere. If desired, sprinkle top of dough with poppy seeds. Press gently with rolling pin to adhere.

 
 
3. Trim sides with a pastry roller. (You will have a rectangle that is roughly 9 by 12 inches)

4. Cut the puff pastry into 3/4 inch strips, and twist from one end to the other. Arrange strips, 1 1/2 inches apart, on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Chill twists on bakin sheets until very frim, about 45 minutes.

5. Bake the cheese straws in middle of oven until golden brown and puffed, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer cheese straws to a rack to cool.

 

 
 

     
   

 

How to Decorate Sugar Cookies with Icing and Sugar

One of my fondest memories of baking with my mother was making sugar cookies. Something about making the dough, waiting in anticipation while it was in the fridge and finally being able to pick out which cookie cutters I could use. And what kid didn't sneak a little cookie dough from the scraps?

Every single Easter, I always send my niece and nephews Easter baskets with a little piece of homemade love. What kid doesn't love cookies with icing and sprinkles on top?! I sure did.

Since I am a self-taught cook, years had gone by where I always wondered how one got royal icing to be perfectly smooth. It wasn't until I learned that the secret is all in the consistency and the application, that I was finally able to produce beautiful cookies as well. 

There are so many sugar cookie recipes out there and I have tried many. I have found many where there was so much butter in the recipe that the dough was difficult to work with no matter how long it chilled for. Or where the dough cracked because there didn't seem to be enough. However, this particular recipe is my go to for when I want perfect sugar cookies that are almost fail proof. So utterly buttery and so utterly delicious! Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

Recipe from Cookies by Williams-Sonoma. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 Cup granulated sugar

1 Large egg yolk

2 Teaspoons vanilla extract

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/4 Teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until fluffy and pale. Add the granulated sugar in 3 additions, beating on low speed for 2 minutes after each addition. Beat the egg yolk and vanilla into the butter mixture until well blended.

2. Sift the flour and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.

3. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to overnight.

 

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.

5. Remove the dough disks from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters,  cut out shapes. Repeat with the remaining dough portions, then gather up the scraps and re-roll them. If the scraps of dough have become sticky, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before re-rolling. For best results, do not roll the same dough more than twice.

6. Using an offset spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared pans. Refrigerate the cutout cookies for 15-30 minutes before baking.

7. Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden on the bottom, 10-12 minutes rotating once. Let the cookies cool briefly on the pans on wire racks before transferring them to the racks to cool completely.

Royal Icing

Ingredients

3 Large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 Teaspoon cream of tartar

4 Cups confectioner's sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl and using a mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat the confectioner's sugar until blended, then beat on high until thick and glossy, about two minutes. 

Decorating with Icing

To color icing, divide it among separate bowls, one for each color desired. Add only a drop or so of a different food coloring to each bowl (see above photo) Stir until completely blended. Repeat as needed to create the desired color. To decorate:

Flowing Icing: This is the trick to having a smooth surface on your cookies. Using a pastry bag fitted with a narrow tip, outline the edges of a cookie with icing, then use a small damp pastry brush to spread an even, solid layer of icing within the outline. You may need to thin the icing with a few drops of water to help it flow. For a perfectly smooth finish, use the tip of a toothpick to pop any bubbles that develop on the icing's surface. Let set completely. May take 1-3 hours. This is dependent on the humidity.

Using Icing and Sugar:  Use the above directions to apply the icing. While the icing is still wet, use a small spoon to sprinkle the icing with sugar, then invert the cookie briefly to let the excess sugar fall off. Let set completely.

How to Make Perfect Bacon Every Time

 

 
Regardless of what many people think, cooking perfect bacon isn't as finicky as one would think. It is actually quite simple. Bake it.

While many people know about this secret, it still surprises me everytime how many people do not  know about it.  Baking this cured pork is the secret to perfectly crisp bacon. Once you try baked bacon, believe me, you will never go back to pan fryed ever again. Enjoy!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and place as many bacon slices as desired (However, I have noted that the more bacon I load on there, obviously there will be more grease which sometimes makes the bacon not as crisp. Try not to overcrowd)

 2. Put sheet into the oven for 18-20 minutes. A few minutes longer if it is thick cut. If it is thin cut and there are 4 or less slices of bacon, adjust the cooking time for a few minutes under 18 minutes.

3. Rotate sheet halfway through cooking time.

4. Once finished, remove from baking sheet, let drain on plate lined with paper towels and serve.

Breton Biscuits

This Friday, I will be embarking on a new journey.... my 30's. I kept telling my husband Robert years ago that for my 30th birthday I will be in France enjoying a culinary vacation. Cooking in a farmhouse in Provence. Enjoying some wine in a chateau in Bordeaux. Unfortunately, that is not going to be the case.

Last year, I began to tell my husband that I wanted a new career. A culinary one. I wanted to become a pastry chef and learn from the masters in Paris. I imagined myself coming home from school, whipping something fresh up in my studio flat, riding my bicycle to the market, becoming fluent in all things french. Eating baguettes by the Seine, enjoy weekends at the Louvre. All while becoming a world class pastry chef. 

While, I still do not know what the future holds for me in terms of a pastry career, until then I will be embracing all things French. Especially the pastries. After all, the french do it best. 

In honor of my 30th tomorrow, I decided to make a french cookie called a Breton Biscuit. Breton Biscuits come from Brittany, a region in France that is known for it's amazing butter. These pair very nicely with a nice cappuccino. Enjoy!

 Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Remember to not under bake them or they will not be crisp enough.

Ingredients

1.5 cups AP flour, plus more for dusting

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large whole egg, plus 4 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions

1. Sift both flours, baking powder, and salt into large bowl; set aside.

2. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed until doubled in volume and pale yellow, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the butter in four parts, beating until completely combined after each, 1 to 2 minutes total. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, beating until combined.

3. Turn out the dough  onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and flatten into disks; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes up to one day.

4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large bakings sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Generously dust a large piece of  parchment paper with flour. Place one disk of dough in the center, and roll out to slightly thicker than 1/4 inch. To prevent sticking while rolling, occasionally run a large offset spatula under dough, and add more flour to the top or bottom. Transfer parchment and dough to a baking sheet; chill until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk; (You can stack sheets of dough in the freezer)

5. Remove one sheet of dough and parchment from the freezer, and transfer to a clean work surface. using a 2.5 inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1.5 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps; roll out again and cut out more rounds. In a small bowl, whisk together the whole egg and 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of rounds. Let stand 5 minutes and brush again. Using a paring knife, score each round in a shallow lattice pattern, making sure not to cut all the way  through the dough. Repeat with remaining dough.

6. Bake, rotating halfway through, until cookies are amber on top and deeply golden around the edges 18-22 minutes. Transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

 

How to make Homemade Pasta and Crab Ravioli

It was my senior year when the fine work that is what the world knows as The Sopranos touched down into my living room. I remember soaking the first two seasons up and when each season ended, I was hungry for more. 

Unfortunately, what comes after high school for most is the inevitable poor life of a college student. Laboring through books and classes during the day and staying up late at night.  

I don’t really remember much from those days in terms of what I would do at night besides college parties, but what I do remember is that The Sopranos no longer existed much for me anymore. As you can imagine, what did exist was a TV with bunny ears and no cable and lot’s of potatoes and Ramen. 

Which now brings me to my early thirties (Okay, that journey begins in two weeks, but don’t get me started on that one) and the wonderful creation that is Net Flix. My husband and I have been devouring through every season recently. Especially since the only season’s I did see was 1, 2 and the last one. Which leaves four seasons of Tony Soprano unaccounted for and that obviously is a lot of missing juice.

Since we have embarked on re-discovering Hollywood’s take on the Italian Mafia, I have been bombarded with dreams of gravy, pasta and lot’s of cheese. I have been craving ravioli and fresh pasta for a while and now I will share with you this wonderful recipe with step by step directions for making homemade pasta as well as a wonderful crab ravioli that you can make with that pasta if you choose. This is a far cry from your college days. Utterly delicious and so utterly Tony. Enjoy!

Making Fresh Pasta

Adapted from Martha Stewart Cooking School

Ingredients

2 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting

3 Large Eggs, room temperature

Pinch of coarse salt

Semolina flour, for baking sheet

1. Mound the all-purpose flour in the center of a clean work surface or in a large wide bowl and form a well in the middle. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and salt with a fork until smooth, then pour into the well.

2. Begin to the work the flour into the eggs with the fork.

3. Then use your hands to work the rest of the flour into mixture, a bit at a time, just to form a sticky dough (don't force all the flour to be incorporated; it's okay if some remains on the work surface)

 
4. Start working the dough with your hands to form a rounded mass for kneading. Knead dough about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Scrape any loose bits of dough from the work surface with a bench scraper.

5. Form dough into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 1.5  hours at room temperature.

6. Use a bench scraper to cut dough into 8 equal pieces (four for filled pasta shapes and lasagne) Working with one piece at a time (keep remaining pieces covered with a clean kitchen towel), flatten dough into an oblong shape somewhat narrower than the pasta machine's thickest setting (number 1) Very lightly dust with AP flour and feed through the machine. 

7. Fold dough in thirds and rotate 90 degrees.

8. Pass through two more times on the same setting to smooth dough and increase it's elasticity. Adjust the setting to the next level (number 2) and pass dough through two more times. Gently supporting it with the back of your hand as it emerges. Continue to pass through ever-finer settings, once on each setting. End with the next-to-thinnest setting for pastas and lasagne; thinnest setting for ravioli (lasgne should be slightly thicker, filled pastas, thinner, almost transparent) If dough bubbles or tears, simply pass through one or two more times to patch the dough (dust lightly with AP flour if dough is sticking) As each sheet of dough has been rolled to the desired thickness, immediately cut into desired shapes or strands.

9. To assemble the crab ravioli's for the recipe below, lay out one sheet of pasta and put one teaspoon of filling about one inch apart. To seal the ravioli, brush around the filling with the egg wash and place the other pasta on top and press down. Press down to make sure pasta is secured around the filling, making sure there are no air pockets.

10. I like to personally hand cut my ravioli. There are some ravioli molds that help ensure that each ravioli is perfect, however, I enjoy the artisan quality of hand cutting my own. I use a crimp pastry wheel to cut the ravioli.

11. Once they are cut, I place them back on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with semolina flour where they can easily be put into a pot of boiling salted water, or can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until ready. These also freeze well and are great to make ahead, freeze on a baking sheet and once frozen put into a freezer bag. Just remember that frozen raviolis take much longer to cook than fresh. Adjust the time. Usually it is anywhere between 7-8 minutes of cooking time for a frozen ravioli.

Crab Ravioli

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living February 2011

Makes 45

Ingredients

For the Filling:

1 cup ricotta cheese (8 oz)

1 cup lump crab meat (8 oz)

Coarse Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

For the Sauce:

1 Stick unsalted butter

2 Teaspoons lemon peel, very finely chopped, plus 2 Teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Garnish; Finely chopped Italian Parsley

Directions

1. Make the filling: Mix together ricotta, crabmeat, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and the red pepper flakes.

2. Assemble the ravioli (as mentioned above)

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in 2 batches, cook ravioli until they rise to the top, about 3 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt 4 Tablespoons butter and heat until just bubbling and frothy. Transfer first batch of ravioli to skillet using a slotted spoon, along with about 2 Tablespoons cooking liquid. Add 1 teaspoon chopped lemon peel and 1 teaspoon lemon juice  and swirl to combine. Transfer to plates.

5. Repeat with second batch of ravioli. Garnish with the parsley.