Daring Bakers Reveal: Mini Eclairs

Yes!

That's what I said when I found out my Daring Bakers challenge was eclairs. I've never made them, and I love to eat them. And with Tanya's baby shower on the horizon, I had a perfect venue to debut my choux debut. (That's a French word, so that little ditty rhymes, ya'll)

Pate a choux means twice cooked dough. It's cooked once on the stovetop, and then baked in the oven. And it puffs up. Yum yum.

Here we have the players:

Sugar, milk, water, butter, and salt (in no particular order).


And flour.


Simmer the first batch of ingredients,


Then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon.


It will come together, and then you should cook it for another few minutes.


Then put it in the mixer and add five eggs, one at a time.


Action shot: (okay, the mixer was off because it was making the picture blurry...)


When the dough is silky and smooth transfer it to your piping bag. That is if your at your mother's house and she actually has one. If not, use a ziploc and cut off the corner. That works just fine.

These are my grandmother's hands. She was hanging out with me while I baked that day, and I enlisted her help to fill the bag. It's not easy to fill those bags alone. Thank goodness for grandmothers.


I just love her hands.

I then used my scrawny digits to pipe out mini eclairs on wax paper. I think parchment would have been better, but that's what we had.


You can push down that little tip with a wet finger.

Here they are:


And after baking:


Most of them kind of deflated. I don't know why. I followed the directions exactly. I think...

It turned out fine, because I cut them in half to fill them.

And now the pastry cream. The challenge suggested chocolate, but I wanted to deviate. Instead of chocolate I added vanilla bean and bourbon.

I followed the recipe given up until the chocolate part. Bring milk to the boil. Combine the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch in another pot.


Hello, boiling milk, how ya doin?


I know, I'm weird.

Temper the yolk mixture with a bit of the hot milk:


Then whisk in the rest.


Put it through a fine mesh sieve just to be sure there are no lumps.


Then add the butter:


And if you're me, the seeds of one vanilla pod.


And 1/4 cup of bourbon. Don't worry, that's a lot of pastry cream. No one got drunk eating one of these. Not even close. Mouth wash is more dangerous than one of these babies.


Hey there beautiful, why don't you go chill out in the fridge while I make the chocolate glaze.


Mmmm chocolate. So the recipe called for making one sauce and adding some of it to another. I don't know if that was really necessary, but I did it anyway, because I already switched it up with the pastry cream.


One sauce was creme fraiche, water and chocolate reduced down till it was thick.


The other was cream and chocolate with some of the creme fraiche mixed in.


I have to say, it was good, and it set up quite nicely. You decide if it's worth it to you.


Put the tops of the eclairs on a cooling rack so the excess chocolate can drip down.


Fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.


Here they are all filled.


And all assembled.


I think everyone enjoyed them. They were pretty fun to make.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
(Or the seeds of one vanilla pod and 1/4 cup bourbon)
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate (or vanilla and bourbon) and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

[bNotes:[/b]
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
 in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)


• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.


Whoosh!!!

That was a mouthfull. Thank goodness for cut and paste, I'll tell you that.
I hope you enjoyed that.
I wish you could have had one.
Maybe you'll make them someday for a baby shower.
Only if you're crazy like me!

Playing,
Meredith

Cowtown Eats: Calf Fries and Whiskey

I like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. I do the whole nose-to-tail eating thing. I like to try new things. So I was pretty embarrassed when my friend John asked me if I'd had calf fries and I had to say no. I lived in Cowtown all those years and I never had one of her famous delicacies. So we decided to make it happen. Calf fries and the cowboy's drink of choice, whiskey. (Note: I don't actually know if that statement is true, but it sounds so very romantic.)

I found a place that had them:


Heehee! It's advertised in neon- you gotta love that.


We sat in the bar area, which was quieter than the dining room.


And here's my whiskey: Maker's Mark on the rocks with a twist of lime. I'm guessing that's not how cowboys drink it. I'm no cowboy.


We shared the calf fry dinner which came with a salad:


Ranch: the dressing of cowboys. I think.

And then the main player: Cow Balls! Or bull balls, actually. Young bull balls to be exact.


They were cut up nice and small to help you forget that you are indeed consuming fried testicles. I know. It seems so disgusting. But you know what is really disgusting? Wasting a perfectly good part of an animal just because of it's purpose.

Also, calf fries are good. They kind of remind me of sweet breads. I like organ meat, especially if it's light and not too chewy, and these fries hit the spot. The cream gravy helped.

Have I ever told you that I love gravy? Any kind will do really, but on calf fries, cream is the way to go.

An action shot brought to you by John, who happens to be a fabulous artist.


What do you think? A little too "come hither" for calf fries? One might say you could never be too "come hither" when it comes to calf testicles breaded and deep fried, served with cream gravy.

Playing,
Meredith

Hatch Chile Dip

I know I've been harping on the whole hatch chile thing, but can you imagine the pure joy I experienced when I walked up to Central Market to buy some groceries and I encountered the intoxicating aroma of roasting chiles. It was truly a thing of beauty.


At Central Market they pre-roast your chiles for convenience.


Here are mine:


Just peel the charred skin off and take the seeds out.

For this recipe dice the heck out of them. That's about five hot hatches, just so you know. If you've got one, use a food processor. I didn't want to dirty any more dishes, so I just chopped away.


Chop five scallions up.


Add 8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese to the chiles and scallions.


Then add one small tub of Greek yogurt.


Mix. You can add some creme fraiche if you've got some leftover from another recipe. Or if you just want a richer dip. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with toasted whole wheat tortilla wedges.

I served mine with some chiles in front of it as a warning. This dip is spicy.


If you don't have access to hatch chiles, poblanos would be great. Just broil them until the skins are blackened and let them steam in a covered bowl for a few minutes. Then peel off the skins and go from there.

Ah, the old figs: here they are in bulk for the baby shower: Check out the post here.


Ah, my dear friend Princeton modeling for me.


And of course, the happy parents! There are two babies in that belly! Amazing stuff.


Just so you know, that beautiful sophisticated diaper cake was made by members of my parent's Sunday school class, Brian and Todd- they're starting a business so I hope they can get me a website soon!


Hatch Chile Dip

5 charred chiles (hatch or poblano), finely chopped
5 scallions, chopped
8 oz. low fat cream cheese
1 small tub Greek yogurt
salt and pepper

Mix the first four ingredients until combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with toasted whole wheat tortillas, or if you're lazy, tortilla chips.

It's so simple, and yet so delicious. Serve it at your next baby shower. Or if you aren't into that sort of thing, any party will do.

Playing,
Meredith

Austin in August, Part 2: A Farm Grows in East Austin

You might think that one greenmarket might be enough for one trip to Austin, especially since AC and I weren't really planning to cook much. But you know what, I like vegetables. I like greenmarkets. And I also like farms. So when AC told me there's a farm in the middle of Austin that sells great stuff right there at the source, you know I had to check it out. I just can't help myself.

Here it is: Boggy Creek Farm


And the produce? Well we were a little late in the day, but what was there was beautiful.

Eggplants:


Standing butternut squash. They look like fat-bottomed gossipy ladies.


The most beautiful tender young okra I've ever seen:


You can walk around the farm and check it out, which is great.

AC pointed out this little sculpture. Or is it just how they store their gloves. Who knows?


It's really a family place.


Who knew how cute babies look when they're looking at chicken coops?


And here it is: where those beautiful veggies actually grow.


Hello there, my child. Soon you will be ready for a stir-fry.


Farms are fun. You should check one out some time.

Playing,
Meredith

Austin in August= Abundance

I'm back in NYC for 48 hours, and I'm working over time to make sure the story of my trip to Texas up on this here blogging establishment. I mean, I've had some pretty awesome culinary experiences on this journey and I can't wait to tell you about them.

Austin was no different. And, my friend AC, being an enabler to my local food obsession, indulged me with a trip to her favorite farmer's market.


What a friendly greenmarket.

The skies were blue, and the morning sun was hot, but it made everything that much more beautiful.


Texas tomatoes! Oh how I love you. You make Jersey tomatoes taste like wet sawdust.


Oh and the watermelons. How I love your sweet juicy local flesh.


Peppers???! Don't even get me started. I think I've died and gone to heaven.



Of course, it being Austin there was live music.



This little dude was an awesome harmonica player, I have to say.


We ended the trip with a home made popsicle. AC had pineapple basil.


She told me not to post that picture, but I think she looks super cute, so I did it anyway. Don't you think she's super cute?

She got one of me as well. I had tamarind chile. Thank goodness the picture didn't capture the huge drip on my stomach.



I guess if I hadn't told you about that, you might never have known. Darn.

Oh well,
You know I like to keep it real.

Playing,
Meredith

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

Welcome to a real time post! Okay, it's not really in real time. I made these for a little snack last week, but I loved them so much I had to make them again for a baby shower my mom is throwing. Just so ya know, I stole this one from my dear friend Lena.

So people will be eating these shortly!

It's simple. The key is to have very good ingredients. Thinly sliced prosciutto or serrano ham, figs, and goat cheese:


Yay local goat cheese! I met the woman who started the Mozzarella Company, Paula, and she's a first class lady. I love food pioneers.


Her cheese is great, by the way. You can get it at Murray's, if you're a NYC reader.

Stuff about a teaspoon of goat cheese into a half a fig.


Then wrap it in a half a slice of ham.


Place them on a rack.


Bake at 450 degrees until the prosciutto is crisp and the cheese is bubbly.


Enjoy with a delicious glass of wine.

I'm gonna go get one right now!
Playing,
Meredith

Playing With Fire

I've been neglectful. I disappeared. I've let you down. I know. But things have been happening. I mentioned some family trouble. Well, being down here and all, I feel that I can't just sit idly by and let my parents and uncles do all the work. So I've been spending a lot of time with my grandmom as she learns to live with her husband in a new state. That state being pretty much not there for the first time in 65 years. And I bet you know that my sweet amazing grandmom doesn't really care to watch me type things into a computer.

So there was that. And then I went to Austin to visit my dear friend AC, and I had farmer's markets to visit, and breakfast tacos to eat, so there was no blogging there. I did take pictures, so stay tuned for a blow-by-blow as life calms down a bit over the next few days.

And then for my most recent venture, which has left me tired but content with the state of the world and even a little bit content with the state of my career.

I made a movie!

Okay, I was a glorified extra. But I had a name, and a makeup artist, and I got to do this:


That's me lighting things on fire! Okay, the well qualified special effects people lit the lawn on fire, but I pretended to light the fire. On camera. With close-ups. And lots of takes.

Hollywood, here I come.

Or not... But I don't care. It was really fun, and soon enough, I'm gonna be on IMDB. But not yet. I'll be checking daily. I'll let you know when that happens.

I play a crazy pyro sorority girl who lights her Greek letters in the frat-house lawn. Pretty awesome, right?



Thanks to my old friend Andrew for snapping these on his iPhone. He is the actual one who lit the fire. He did it with a huge blow torch. My matches had nothing on his blow torch...

Check out the production company and watch the short version of the feature I'm in here. It's called Roslyn for the time being.

I promise to never leave you this long again.
But seriously, I have some pretty good excuses, right?

Playing on film!!!
Meredith

Houston...

Well you know how it goes.  I'm in Texas for four days and all hell breaks loose.  It's family emergency time.  My grandparents are aging, one perhaps a little less gracefully then the rest.  Anyway, duty calls, and I've got to step up, so I'll have to leave you for a few days.  Tune in, because I do have a few posts up my sleeve.  Also, I leave for Austin tonight to meet AC my dear friend and explore all that is fresh and local there.  

Thanks!

Meredith

Another Summer Pasta

I've been craving light summery pastas lately. I know it probably feels a bit one note, but really there are so many endless possibilities. And now that I'm in Fort Worth, I get to go to my very favorite place: Central Market. It's so beautiful and vast in a way that things can only be in Texas. The produce is amazing- way better than Whole Foods, but much like WF, Central Market doesn't exactly emphasize the whole local thing. And when things are local, they are almost never organic. Perhaps this is indicative of Texas' farming practices. It's quite possible. But I would like to check out the local farmer's market while I'm here to verify that.

Still, Central Market is a beautiful place, and I went there immediately after I landed. Really. I just drove there after a four hour flight. And it was wonderful.


Also, I don't know why I don't come back more often in the summer. Because I miss this every year:


Heehee!!!!! You know how I love chiles! And these are good ones. Of course, I could go to New Mexico to get them from the source. But it was a lovely surprise to see them piled high when I walked in the door. I'm going to use them in everything I cook, even if it's totally inappropriate. That's just how excited I am to have them. You really can't get these fresh up north, so it's very exciting.

Now for the pasta. I started out with some chopped onion and a chopped chile.


I seeded and diced that chile but the pictures were blurry (I forgot my tripod).

Next, brown up some bulk Italian sausage. I used 1/4 pound and that was plenty.


Add your veggies. Garlic would have been nice, but I forgot to buy it.


And now some lovely mustard greens, chopped up. They're from California... But I'm half-way closer to California than usual, so I didn't mind so much.


Deglaze the pan with a little white wine.

Now's the time to add those greens to the pot.

Wow! My mom's basil is off the hook! The bees were loving it. Mmmm basil honey...


Sprinkle in some parmesan and chopped basil. Add some cooking liquid from the pasta to make a nice sauce.


Top with more cheese and you're good to go.


Mmm mm mm. Tasty and delicious.

Playing,
Meredith

Oops!

I am a dufus. I spent about an hour yesterday packing for my journey to Texas. Did you know I was in Texas? Well I am. And if you want to come over and have dinner with me give me a holler. I mean, if you're in Texas too that is. Anyway, back to my dufusness, I packed everything. I have my camera. I have my strap. I've got rechargeable batteries and battery charger. I brought church outfits and regular outfits. Stuff to work out in. I brought the shirt I auditioned for the film I'm in because the costume designer said, "sometimes they get stuck on that." I almost forgot shoes, but remembered at the last minute.

What I forgot, my friends, is my pictures. You see, when I upload pictures onto my computer they're automatically deleted from my camera. That has worked out just fine for me, until I up and decided to go to Texas without my laptop. I mean, I had to pack pretty light because I didn't want to check, so bringing it was really out of the question. But on that hard drive? A lot of photo documentation of a wonderful weekend with my sister Lis, Michael and G. All I've got is what my savior G posted to facebook. The rest, my patient and loyal friends, will have to wait until I get back.

She did a good job of documenting herself, so I'm not totally up the creek.

We were in Hudson. Lis was visiting me for the second time ever without the folks along for the ride, which was very fun. It was a beautiful day so we decided to go across the river to the Catskills and go up to Hunter Mountain and hike around.

Little did we know that the single greatest event ever was taking place.


Oh yes, the German Alps Festival. Complete with hundreds of slightly drunk Germans chanting drinking songs in liederhosen.

We had some delicious beer. Lis had white wine.


We really did feel like we were in the Alps.


Lis made some new friends:


We grabbed some beers to go and headed up the ski lift.


Lis only freaked out mildly, but all in all, she was a great sport.


It was very beautiful up there.


Ah, good old Rip Van Winkle. This was actually a very cool sculpture being created.


We found wild blackberries up there! I love nature!


How local and seasonal does that get?

And then we were back down to the festival for a snack. We all had different kinds of German sausage. Lis and I shared a bratwurst.


It was amazing. I'm seriously coming back here next year just for that brat.

Lis tried some beer:



Hee hee. I don't think she liked it.

Here's our little German girl in full regalia:


It was a lovely day. Stay tuned to hear about whats going on down here in Texas.

Playing,
Meredith

Cocktail Monday: Margarita Time!

Hello my faithful readers,
I know what you need. A margarita. For breakfast. Okay, maybe at lunch, or for dinner would be more appropriate. I think you should have a margarita whenever you feel like one. That's why I'm going to tell you how they're done.

This is my special recipe that I perfected as a bartender back in the day. They were highly praised. I tried to teach my friend the waitress to make them and she just couldn't do it. It takes a certain gift to make a good margarita. Don't worry, I think you have the gift.

It's a lot easier to make a pitcher of margaritas, so that's what I did. Start out with lots of lime juice. It's got to be fresh squeezed. Don't even talk to me about sweet and sour mix.


Now that extra something that makes these margaritas special: the juice of one orange. It balances it out I think.


Lime/orange carnage! Avert your eyes ye faint of heart!


Hee hee.

Now for the booze. Tequila and orange liquor. What kind? I prefer silver tequila. Don't go crazy expensive or super cheap. Run of the mill is just fine. As to the liquor, this is a version of Gran Marnier, and it did well. Cointreau is also good, but just plain triple sec will do.

As to amounts, it's kind of up to you, as long as the ratio is pretty equal with slightly more tequila.


Now add a lot of ice. This will chill it and water down the super concentrated brew. Really this ice is for melting. Put more ice in the glass before you pour.


After that, it's up to you. Salt or no salt. On the rocks or straight up in a martini glass. However you want it.


I mean it is your Cocktail Monday.
Playing,
Meredith

A Thing of Beauty

Ripe tomato from the CSA. Olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Need I say more?


I'll be back with stories from Hudson with Lis and G.
Playing,
Meredith

Escarole with Cannellini Beans and Polenta

These days, we're cooking the CSA around here. I've got a fridge full of veggies and not enough time. My sister is coming in town today and then we're off to Hudson for the weekend. After that I'm going down to Texas to hang out and film a movie. So I'm afraid G's going to be stuck with most of the veggies in the fridge. I tried to make a dent though. We got a huge head of escarole which I decided to make into a delicious dinner.

First the polenta. I'm telling you, ignore your package directions. Bring a bunch of stock or water and stock to a boil and add a healthy pinch of salt. Taste the broth to make sure it is well seasoned. Then add just a cup of polenta.


Then just turn down the heat and stir occasionally. For like an hour. If it gets too thick, add more water or stock. Cooking the polenta this way really allows those starches to explode and become creamy and delicious. I swear it doesn't need butter or cheese if you cook it this way.

So we'll leave that polenta simmering away and turn to the escarole.

Chop it up coarsely and wash and dry it. This is half of a huge head.


Thinly slice some onion, mince some garlic, and if it came in your CSA and you're feeling feisty, chop up a jalapeño. It's sort of a fresh substitution for red chile flakes I'd normally add to this dish.


Sautée the onion and jalapeño until soft and a little brown.


Add the garlic and sautée a moment until you can smell it.

Immediately add the escarole.


Turn it around in the pan a bit until the escarole is coated with the spicy garlicky oil, then add some chicken stock.


Throw in a sprig of rosemary.


A drained can of cannellini beans:


And simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Serve it over the polenta sprinkled with a bit of parmesan.


It's wonderful and delicious, and I highly recommend you try it.

A Player's Escarole with Cannellini Beans

1/2 large head of escarole, chopped, washed and dried
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 can cannellini beans

Slice the onion and jalapeño and mince the garlic. Sautée the onion and jalapeño until a little brown and add the garlic. Sautée until you smell it, then add the escarole. Turn the greens until coated in the oil then add the stock, rosemary and beans. Simmer 10-15 minutes and serve over warm polenta.


Eat it up. It's good for you.
Playing,
Meredith

Camp Cookin'

What do you do with restless Shakespeare campers when the play is done but you've got three more days of camp?

If you're me, you spend a half a day cooking with them.

I love cooking with kids. I recognize that this isn't normal. Wait. Scratch that. People like cooking with one or two kids. They don't really like cooking with 12. Well, I do. It takes organization, good delegation skills, and a little twist that I've come up with on my own.

On Wednesday we planned on making brownies. We had so much fun making them that we ended up making lunch as well. The caveat: everything had to be wheat free for one of the campers who is a celiac. She brought in the brownie recipe, which ended up being quite good despite it's crazy ingredients. We then made chicken fingers breaded with cornflakes. Although my little celiac couldn't use the cornflakes because they were made in a factory which processes wheat (it's an intense allergy). She just egg washed and floured hers instead.

I set up an assembly line and had the kids line up. They each moved through the line taking one tender, dusting it in potato starch and sorghum flour (leftover from the brownies). Then came an egg wash, then crunched up corn flakes.


Conveniently there was a sink positioned right after the pan.


It's good to bake your tenders on a rack so they get even heat.


We rounded out the meal with a fruit salad and some mashed potatoes.


Dessert was brownies, of course. They were very gooey. I think I could have left them in the oven a little longer.


The kids loved it. They loved getting dirty, and having a direct relationship to the food they ate. One thing I learned was not to worry so much about dietary restrictions. My celiac wouldn't eat the cornflakes which I bought specifically for her, so I could have done something else like panko and everyone would have been just as happy. Another child didn't eat milk, so we specifically didn't put any cream in the mashed potatoes. He didn't eat them anyway. Next time I'll plan a meal that's flexible but not so fussy.

My advice: give every kid a task and keep it moving. If you need 3/4 cups of flour split it up and let each kid add 1/4 cup. That way even the most simple recipes have plenty of tasks to go around and everyone feels like they can participate.

Baking with my players
Playing with baking,
Meredith

Summer Camp Reflections: Set Building

Well folks, it's the end of an ordeal. I came, I saw, I conquered. Children's theater, that is. And though it is my duty as a responsible counselor/director to keep the identities of my fabulous and talented mini-"players" out of this forum, I can't help but tell you about some of the little tricks that made their Shakespeare camp experience all the richer.

The play we did this year was "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which you may know takes place mostly in a forest. Would we cut out one dimensional cardboard trees and call it a day? Is my name "Easy Way Out" or "Perfectionist"? I mean come on. No Charlie Brown trees here, folks. I made bonafied 100% realistic fake setpieces. It seems contradictory but I promise it isn't.

The base: a wood frame, slightly haphazardly screwed together by your's truly. I promise, the non-squared off, slightly oddly shaped frames made more realistic looking trees.

Then there was a layer of chicken wire to add shape. Or to cut me a lot. I'm not sure.

We were going to paper maché them but ran out of time and just covered them with canvass. That ended up working just fine, and took about 2 days out of the process.


The treetops? A wood frame yet again covered with chicken wire. We then stuffed newspaper into each individual hole.


Then my partner Devin and I spray painted them green on the roof. No worries- no children were painted green in the making of these trees.


We made three of these babies. The kids did a lot- they painted the trunks and stuffed lots of newspaper. And yes, Devin and I put in a lot of extra hours to make sure these babies were done. But it was all worth it.


The other element of our set were these flats. The flats I made last year for our production of "Macbeth". What I always do is divide the children into small groups. I have each group work together to design the picture. I ended up with three pictures, and then took elements from each one to form one cohesive drawing. We split it in two, and either Devin or I sketch the general picture onto the canvass. Then we assign elements to the kids. Some kids are better at broad strokes, and others are better at details. It's all about proper delegation.

This is what we all came up with:


Pretty amazing huh? They did an amazing job.


Well thought out and executed sets really add to a performance. Imagine the change when those trees replaced the 2 ft blocks that had been markers in the children's performances. In stead of pretending to hide, they actually hid. It was great.

I love sets. Somehow it's all connected to my love of detail and precision. And you know how I love that.

What can I say,
I'm a Precise Player,
Meredith

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Dip

Eggplants... Not my favorite vegetable. In fact, it is pretty low on the totem pole. I love most vegetables with a passion. Eggplant, I could live without. But, I do like eggplant dip. Or specifically one I had in Greece. So when we had eggplants sitting in the fridge starting to look a little sad, I went for it.

I found this recipe on Epicurious. I love that site because it has all of the old Gourmet Magazine recipes, which is, as far as I'm concerned the best cooking magazine ever. The recipe was simple and easy.

Wrap individual unpeeled cloves of garlic in foil. I only used one head rather than two, and that worked out just fine for me.


You can't really tell, but those cloves were huge. I wonder what kind of garlic that is... G picked it up from the CSA.

Next, prick your eggplants. The recipe calls for one, but I'm assuming they mean one of those large ones. I had small skinny ones, so I used three.


Place your garlic packet and eggplant in a 425 degree oven.


When the eggplant is soft and roasty scoop out the innards.


Put them in the food processor with the roasted garlic. If you're like me and don't have one, use your blender. Thank you, Pat Cole, for giving me this blender my freshman year of college. It has really lasted quite well.


Add 1/4 cup olive oil. I used Kefalonian olive oil, since I have it.


Blend. Add the red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. I garnished mine with fresh oregano, since I have it.


Use anything you like to dip, but pita is always nice.

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Dip
(From Gourmet Magazine)

Ingredients:

2 small heads garlic
1 eggplant (1 pound)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar, or to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Separate garlic cloves without peeling and tightly wrap together in foil. Prick eggplant with a fork. In a shallow baking pan roast garlic and eggplant in middle of oven until very tender, about 30 minutes for garlic and about 45 minutes for eggplant.

Unwrap garlic and peel, transferring garlic to a food processor or blender. Scrape flesh from eggplant into food processor, discarding skin. Purée mixture until smooth and, with motor running, add oil and vinegar until combined. Season dip with salt and pepper and serve with pita toasts.

Serve it at your next party and I promise that even your biggest eggplant haters will enjoy it.

Playing,
Meredith