A little "tendresse" in your dessert

In the following pastry book by Stéphane Glacier, I found that recipe for those small sweet cookies, called "tendresse" (tenderness). The cavity in each individual mold allows you to fill in it with any sort of flavors, from chocolate ganache, fruit coulis, peanut butter, nutella, jam, etc... very versatile. That's what I like!

For those Tendresses, you need to use those molds : 1 flexipan mini- savarin oval and 1 square one...

Ingredients (yield = 96 mini tendresses)

• 760 gr almond powder
• 760 gr sugar
• 760 gr eggs
• 400 gr melted butter
• 100 gr AP flour
• 400 gr melted butter
• 400 gr water + 200 gr sugar for the syrup

Procedure

• Mix almond + sugar using the flat beater of your Kitchen Aid
• Add the eggs one at a time. Keep mixing
• Add flour. Keep mixing
• Add butter. Keep mixing but don't overbeat
• Pour into the individual moulds to two/thirds
• Place a baking paper sheet and a grid on the mould.
• Bake at 160 C./320 F. in a convection oven or at 180 C./350 F. for a deck oven for 20 mn.
• Allow 5 mn to cool down before turning out and unmolding.
• Soak the tendresses in the syrup while still warm and drain on a grid.
• Add whatever filling you like and decorate.

White Gazpacho for a Refreshing Summer

If you want to change from the usual famous summer cold Spanish soup, the tomato gazpacho, you can try this white gazpacho recipe  (ajo blanco, litterally meaning white garlic in Spanish). The white color comes also from the almond ingredient

Ingredients (yield : 6 servings)

• 180 gr sliced almonds
• 1 garlic clove
• 100 gr bread crumbs
• 180 ml extra virgin oil
• 500 ml water
• 3 TBS Xeres vinegar
• Salt & Pepper

Procedure

• Soak 160 gr of almonds, crushed garlic, oil, crumbs and salt for 12 hours
• Mix all ingredients adding water and vinegar
• Taste and adjust salt and pepper
• Sprinkle with the rest of sliced almonds

Makrout el Louz... Cookie Made in Algeria...

You know how much I like cookies, financiers, madeleines, Russian tea balls, vanilla kipferln, anise bredele, traou mad,... just hit the label cookie on my blog and you will have a long list of those recipes...

While catching up with my homework by browsing some of my favorite culinary blogs and websites, I noticed a recipe of almond and orange blossom water cookie, Makrout el Louz, traditional from Algeria, on Albarock Channel... Their videos are often fun to watch and always very instructive...

Ingredients

For the dough :

• 500 gr almond flour
• 125 gr icing sugar
• 3 eggs (120gr)
• 2 lemons (zest)
• Orange blossom water

For the syrup :

• 500 gr water
• 150 gr sugar
• 50 gr orange blossom water

For coating :

• 500 gr icing sugar

Procedure

• Mix all ingredients with the flat beater of your kitchen aid.
• Let it rest in the fridge for 30 mn
• Roll in 3/4 inches to form a log. Cut in diamond shape
• Bake for 10 mn at 325 F.

• Meanwhile, boil water with sugar. Add orange water.
• Soak the baked cookies (still hot) in the warm syrup for about 30 s. then drain.
• Then coat with icing sugar several times (2 or 3 times)
• When cool down, store in a tin container.

Watch the tutorial on Albarock Channel here...

Hasselbackpotatis, Swedish Way of Roasting Potatoes

I like the multiple ways of cooking/baking potatoes and am always glad to discover a new method... This one is visually attractive on the plate with grilled red meat or smoked fish. The fact of slicing them width-wise allows the  flesh to cook faster than usual baked potatoes... Traditionally, bay leaves are used to flavor the potatoes but you can try other alternatives to change the flavors (sage, tarragon, paprika, Parmesan, etc...).

Now, good luck with the recipe ! ;-)

GÖR SÅ HÄR

• Sätt ugnen på 225 grader.
• Skala potatisen. Lägg den på en träslev och skär den i tunna skivor, men inte helt igenom.
• Ställ potatisen med den skurna sidan upp på ett ugnssäkert fat.
• Smält smöret i en liten kastrull och pressa ner vitlöksklyftan/-orna i smöret.
• Pensla potatisen med vitlökssmöret. Strö på salt. Stek potatisen mitt i ugnen i 30 min. Ta ut potatisen och pensla den med mera smör. Strö på den rivna västerbottensosten och stek i ytterligare 15 minuter tills potatisen är mjuk.

Serveringsförslag: Gott till stekt eller grillat kött.

Well, if you are not that fluent in Swedish, try this one....

Hasselback Potatoes With Rosemary (source)
What you need: potatoes (medium sized), breadcrumbs, fresh rosemary, butter and sea salt.
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F
2. Peel and wash the potatoes. 
3. Slice into the potatoes about 1/5 inch apart. Do not cut completely through! Top each potato with a small knob of butter and bake them in the oven for about 25 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle each potato with breadcrumbs, sea salt and some rosemary (rosemary is untraditional, so if you want to stay true to the original recipe, just leave it out).. Again top each potato with a small knob of butter.
5. Bake for another 25-35 minutes (depending on the size of the potatoes) or until golden on the outside and soft on the inside. You can also turn the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes of cooking to get an extra crispy outside.

~~~~~

Click on this link to watch photos of hasselbackpotatis for more creative ideas...

Indispensable : Chocolate Fondant

Ingredients (yield = 6)

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 3 yolks
• 150 g butter
• 6 TBS sugar
• 3 TBS flour

Procedure

• Melt chocolate and butter on a bain marie or in a microwave
• Mix eggs, yolks and sugar until pale (blanchir)
• Add flour and mix well
• Add melted chocolate
• Let rest for 5 mn
• Brush melted butter in a ramequin (or aluminium cup or circle). Coat with sugar 
• Bake at 200 C. / 400 F. in a convection oven for 7/8 mn
• Unmold and serve right away

I love my Ramen (Japanese noodles) in Hell's Kitchen

Whenever I crave for Japanese confort food, I run to Toto Ramen, that Japanese tiny place just 5 mn from my appartement, right in the center of Hell's Kitchen. The only real draw back is the waiting list, sometimes over 90 mn...

Less accessible from my apartment but nice enough if you want to ride the 7 train in The Queens, there is this family like - tourist free Thai kitchen, Zabb Elee.