Daring Bakers: Tuiles/cornets from the French Laundry

This month's Daring Baker's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf.   They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.   Karen is in the Netherlands and Zorra is blogging from Spain.  

The challenge was to make either sweet or savory tuiles and I chose the savory.  The recipe used for the savory ones are from The French Laundry - this batter is what is used to make the cornets for their famous salmon tartare cornet appetizers.  These appetizers are like little ice cream cones.  They are just two or three bites.  I did not want to fill them with salmon tartare, however, because I knew my husband would not eat them so I filled them with a mixture of ricotta and parmesan cheese and then grated parmesan cheese on top.   You can fill them with anything your imagination comes up with!  

I also could not make a true cornet, because I did not have any cornet molds.  I substituted my large pastry tips and this enabled me to only make a rolled shell, not a true cornet.  But they worked.  I could still fill them.  But I liked these so much and there are so many ways to fill them that I just may have to purchase the molds and have some fun!  There was a definite learning curve in making these but at the end I was getting the hang of it.  I look forward to making these again and filling them with something different.  



Savory tuile/cornet recipe
From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"

for a printable recipe click here

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (I omitted these)

Thomas Keller says you can make this  batter in a food processor.    I put the butter in first and made sure it was creamed well and then added everything else in (except seeds) and processed it until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil.  You can use anything but some kind of hard plastic works best.  I used a plastic file envelope and cut a hollow circle out of it:





Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.



There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds (I omitted the sesame seeds).



Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.   This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.





When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.

Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.



I used a piping bag to fill the shells.


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Scallops in Orange Sauce and Dried Herbs

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Sausage with Peppers and Onions (Healthy Style!)

Please note that I have moved my blog as of September, 2009. THIS POST can now be read here. Please jump on over to the new site to read it! Thanks!

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Italian Pizzelle Ice Cream Sandwiches

(Please note that I have moved my blog as of September, 2009. This post is now at: http://tinyurl.com/y9z5k38. Please hop on over and visit me at my new site. Thanks!)

"Seize the moment. Think of all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart." - Erma Bombeck

I had to start you off with that quote so you would feel better about this post. This is real indulgence. My husband and kids love these ice cream sandwiches. You can make these with store bought italian pizzelle cookies, but it's so fun to actually make the cookies yourself. Pizzelle cookies can be made in any flavor and shaped when still warm, allowing you to make little waffle dishes or cones. But my guys' favorite way to eat them is to smear them with their beloved Nutella, cut slices of ice cream and make a sandwich out of them. Of course, you can also just eat them alone, as a cookie, but what fun is that?

Chocolate Pizzelle Cookies

for a printable recipe, click here

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar + 3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup melted butter or oil, like canola
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled melted butter or oil and vanilla. Sift together the cocoa, flour and baking powder. Add to egg mixture. Batter will be stiff. Drop by teaspoonful onto pizzelle maker. Close lid and cook for about 20 seconds. After the first couple, you will know how long to cook them for your pizzelle maker. Makes 30 pizzelles.

The pizzelle maker I use is from Villaware.





Sometimes two cookies will be formed together. Just break them apart. Most cookies will need to be trimmed a little around the edges:



It's fun to make little waffle cups - just place the hot pizzelle right off the griddle onto an inverted custard cup. The ones below were formed on a rolling pin:

For all you Nutella lovers out there, you may enjoy this link.

Note: For all the readers who subscribe to my blog through a Reader, I apologize for my feed going out twice. I have tried to work through Feedburner to figure out why this is happening, and cannot get it solved. Bear with me until it gets fixed! Thanks!

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Roman Style Artichokes and Marcella Hazan's Perfect Lunch

I just finished reading Marcella Hazan's recently released autobiography, "Amacord".    We all know Marcella Hazan as the Queen of Italian cooking but when she and her husband, Victor, first moved to the United States, she wasn't much of a cook.  As a newlywed in a foreign country, she poured her efforts into learning how to cook so that Victor, who came home for lunch every day from work, would be pleased.   Needless to say, over the years she became quite a cook.   She started giving small cooking classes out of her apartment and one day she received a call from a reporter at the New York Times.  She didn't know who he was.  He wanted to come over and interview her, but the times he suggested were always in the middle of the day when Victor came home for lunch, so she just invited the reporter over for lunch one day. The reporter was Craig Claiborne and the lunch Marcella served knocked his socks off.  This was back in 1970 and her authentic Italian cooking was anything but the usual spaghetti and meatball fare everyone knew at that time as Italian cuisine.   She served a lunch of Roman style artichokes, tortelloni stuffed with swiss chard, prosciutto and ricotta, veal rolls stuffed with parmesan and pancetta, fennel salad and a dessert of marinated orange slices. To this day, she said she doesn't think she could improve on that lunch.  It was classic.

These traditional artichokes that Marcella served are common in Rome. Instead of cooking the whole artichoke and biting the flesh off the leaves, the artichokes are trimmed of everything inedible and cooked in herbs and garlic. They are delicious and you can eat the whole thing. They are a little effort up front to trim them, but they are well worth it.

Roman Style Artichokes

for a printer friendly recipe, click here.

4 servings

4 large globe artichokes with stems attached
1 lemon
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt, pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Bend back and snap off tough outer leaves from artichokes, pulling off enough leaves until you expose the central part of the artichoke with whiter leaves at the base. Slice off tops and then squeeze some lemon juice over the cut parts, so they don't turn so brown.



Trim the sides of the artichokes of any tough green parts. Trim the end off stem and then, using the knife, trim the tough green outer part of the stem. Rub with lemon.



Using a paring knife, cut out the hairy choke inside the artichoke







In a bowl, combine the parsley, mint, garlic and salt and pepper. Rub the mixture into the artichokes and over the outsides of the artichokes.



Set the artichokes, topside down with stems facing up, into a pot with a lid. Add oil and enough water to come one third up the sides of the leaves (not the stems).



Cook over medium heat until artichokes are tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer artichokes, stems up, to a serving platter, reserving juices. . Let cool to warm or room temperature. To serve, drizzle the pan juices over artichokes. Bookmark on Delicious