Happy 2nd Birthday, Dani Dishes!

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Dani Dishes's first birthday.  Last year, I was drinking bubbles in the little Cooper Street kitchen in Charleston, surrounded by my girlfriends.  This year, I found myself at my parents' house in NC for a much quieter, but nonetheless enjoyable celebration.

I know I've gotten off track with the blog this past year. I've been trying to get through culinary school, working all the time, and honestly just haven't felt like writing. 

But, I've spent a lot of time trying to get my head straight, and I've decided that it's time for a change. As much as Charleston has meant to me, I'm looking forward to seeing some new places and making some new memories. So, next week, I'll be packing my car and moving to Denver, CO! It's a little daunting, and I know it's gonna be a cold winter for this Carolina girl, but I'm ready to do this thing.

 

I've got a couple posts up my sleeve, so stay tuned. Cheers to another year, Dani Dishes!

Happy Birthday, Dani Dishes!

Happy first birthday, Dani Dishes.

Cheers to a great year...

Bethany, Amanda, Caroline

...and to all my good friends who've supported me along the way.

me , Cindy, Carlie

Here's to another year of inspiration, creativity, and happiness!

Biscuits & Gravy

So, after a long hiatus, I'm finally back! I promise I'm going to post with a little more regularity, it's just been a whirlwind month for me.  Thanks to my little group of loyal readers who are bearing with me and have patiently waited for this phase of my life to pass.

I'm done with my first semester of culinary school! With all A's to show for it!  It did get a little hairy there towards the end, but I still feel really good about my decision to start [and stick to] this program.

~

For my first post in a while, I decided to make biscuits and gravy.  I've been eating a lot of comfort food lately, which is definitely the opposite of what I should be doing at the start of bikini season here in beautiful Charleston, SC.  Regardless, I'm doing it anyways, so I figure I might as well post about it.

This could even be a nice breakfast to make your mom or your wife or whomever you deem appropriate on Mother's Day.  If you're not working brunch, that is. Which I am doing, along with everyone else I know, considering nearly everyone else I know is a Food & Bev kid.

I guess some [not southern] people have a hard time understanding the concept of biscuits and gravy.   I'm always appalled when people have never heard of, or tasted, biscuits and gravy for breakfast.  It's in that same category as grits.  It's surprising how many people are like "What are grits?" when I'm waiting tables. It's a pretty difficult concept for me to grasp.  I mean, my sister and I were spoonfed this stuff as kids.  But I digress.

I made buttermilk biscuits by scratch, but they didn't turn out remarkably well.  I actually threw out the first batch of dough because it just wasn't right, and the second batch still didn't turn out as fluffy and nice as I wanted it to.  So, I'm leaving the biscuit recipe out of the equation.  Here is my favorite recipe for country gravy, which is based on a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

Country Sausage Gravy

 

1 pound pork sausage (I used less than a pound, and threw in a hot bratwurst I had leftover from a pool day this week)
3/4 onion, finely chopped
3/4 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
S&P to taste
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 cups milk, divided
chicken stock, to taste
white wine, to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

In a skillet on medium heat cook pork, onion, peppers, red pepper, chili powder, and garlic.

Cool until pork is crumbly.  Drain off excess fat, leaving a small amount.

Combine butter, salt, and pepper with the meat mixture and stir until the butter melts.  Slowly sift flour over the top.  Mix gently and allow mixture to cook for 5 minutes.  Be careful not to let it burn.  Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the pan.  Add the thyme.

Slowly stir in milk, about a half cup at a time, and incorporate it well. when the mixture thickens, add more milk.  Do not let it boil vigorously, or it will burn.

Add a splash of chicken stock and white wine to taste.  I thought this added flavor and a hint of acid, which this heavy gravy needed.  If it thickens too much, add more milk.  Adjust the taste with more salt and pepper as needed.

Just before serving, add the parsley, and about 1/4 cup more milk; the gravy will thicken quickly as it cools.

Apparently, the leftover gravy develops more flavor if you let it refrigerate overnight. Obviously, I had leftovers, so I'm curious to see what happens.  All I know is that this recipe is easy and delicious.

Happy early Mother's Day!

Blood Orange Polenta Upside-Down Cake

This recipe caught my eye as soon as I saw the photo in the March '10 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.  It was one of those recipes that I immediately knew I would have to make. The oranges were just so striking, and polenta is one of my favorite things to eat.  What's not to like?

Make sure you slice the oranges as thin as possible.  I talked to my Bakeshop Production chef after I made it, and he suggested using a mandolin.  The flavor of the cake was amazing, but the peels were still a bit overwhelming on the palate.  I think if you cooked the slices with the simple syrup for even just a minute or two, rather than just laying them in the already cooked syrup, it might help candy the peels and take a bit more of the bitterness out.  That being said, here is the recipe:

Blood Orange Polenta Upside-Down Cake

From Bon Appetit, March 2010

7 tablespoons sugar, divided, plus 3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp, divided

3 unpeeled small to medium blood oranges

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons polenta or coarse yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, separated

6 tablespoons whole milk

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Combine 6 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a 10-inch diameter ovenproof skillet with an 8 inch diameter bottom and 2 1/2 inch sides *my trusty cast-iron skillet worked beautifully for this cake*.  Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat and boil wihout stirring until syrup is golden amber (not dark amber), occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush and swirling skillet, about 4 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and whisk 2 tablespoons butter into caramel. Set aside.

I

I think I could have cooked my syrup a bit longer.  This is also where I probably would have added my orange slices. 

I'm thinking all this could have been done in a separate pan, and then laid in the cast iron skillet afterwards.

Cut off both rounded ends of each orange so that ends are even and flat.  Using sharp knife *or mandolin,* cut oranges into 1/16 to 1/8 inch rounds.  Remove and discard any seeds.  

Arrange orange slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles atop caramel in bottom of skillet.

I

I also would eliminate that center circle of oranges you see on top here.  

You really only want one total layer of oranges, with maybe a very slight overlap. 

Whisk flour, polenta, baking powder, and coarse kosher salt in medium bowl to blend.  Using electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup sugar, remaining 6 tablespoons room-temperature butter, and vanilla in another medium bowl until light and fluffy.  Add egg  yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour mixture in 3 addtions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating batter until just incorporated.

F

Clockwise from top: flour/polenta mixture, butter/sugar mixture, whites, yolks

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form.  Add remaining 1 tablespoons ugar and beat until stiff but not dry.  Fold 1/3 of egg whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions.

  whipped whites and polenta cake batter

Drop batter by large spoonfuls atop orange slices in skillet, then spread evenly.

You don't want to pour the batter because you might disturb the arrangement of the orange slices.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  *I underbaked this by 5 minutes, and I think I could have taken it out even a few minutes earlier than that.  It would have been pretty dry had I left it in the full amount of time.  This could also just be my oven...*

Run small knife around cake to loosen.  Place platter atop skillet.  Using oven mitts, hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle onto platter.  Rearrange any orange slices that may have become dislodged.  Cool completely at room temperature and serve with whipped creme fraiche (or whipped cream).

So ultimately, this recipe turned out pretty well, with some room for improvement.  I think if I made it again with these slight changes, it would turn out perfectly. 

This cake is a good one to have up your sleeve because it's stunningly beautiful, but not that hard to make.

 

Culinary School Update: Vegetables, Jelly Rolls, and Potatoes

Okay kids, its that time again. I've been trying to do longer culinary school updates, spaced farther apart so as not to bore you to death.  Do you readers out there think its better that way?  I know you're out there! Based on the comments I've been getting however, I'm beginning to believe that only my mom and my sister read this blog ;)

~

Soooo, onwards.  We're still kinda hooked on veggies in Food Production class.  Two weeks ago, we made a pan-fried eggplant Parmesan.  We used the tomato sauce that we made and immediately froze few weeks ago, which we thawed out and spruced up a bit with some fresh herbs.  This dish was an exercise in the standard breading procedure (flour, eggwash, breadcrumbs).

We also made a vegetable strudel: puff pastry layered with mushroom duxelles, blanched asparagus, toasted pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.  For the sauce, we made a simple red pepper coulis.

 

The duxelles were really rich so I didn't really want more than a couple bites.  Plus, I like mushrooms, but I don't absolutely love them.  Regardless, I thought the flavor was right on.  This was very filling for a vegetarian dish.

~

Two weeks ago in Bakeshop Production, we made jelly rolls. Although these tasted great, they seemed like such a strange, rather outdated desert to me.  To make them, we baked spongecakes in a sheet pan.  Then, we spread whipped cream on the cake, and lined the whipped cream with cherries, blueberries, and mandarin oranges. The cakes were carefully rolled up, then decorated with buttercream frosting or chocolate ganache. 

chocolate buttercream on the left, chocolate ganache on the right

My ganache covered jelly roll looked kind of like doo-doo because I didnt heat the ganache enough and it got kind of separated.  So don't look at it any more because its ugly :(

Here's a picture of my friend Allie's ganache jelly roll instead:

Allie's ganache turned out smooth and pretty, like it was supposed to.

Here's a cross-section of my buttercream jelly roll:

  See all the fruit? I ate so much whipped cream and frosting during this class. Ech.

That's about it for jelly rolls.

~

This week in Food Production, it was potato day. First, we made Potatoes Duchesse, which is kind of like mashed potatoes that are piped into little mounds and baked.  Again, this seemed like kind of a weird recipe, but they tasted delicious.

 My partner, Mo, and I added some chopped parsley and cream in ours for a little extra flavor.

We also made Rosemary Roasted new potatoes:

I pretty much nibbled on these the whole class.

We made candied sweet potatoes that were roasted and basted with a syrup made from brown sugar and a hint of vanilla.

 

We also made scalloped potatoes, which were delicous, but I kind of forgot to take a picture of them.

~

In baking class this week, we each made a chiffon sponge cake and a walnut genoise cake.  I didn't take pictures, because next class we're going to frost them, so I thought I'd save it for next time.

Culinary School Update: Braised Cabbage, Cookies, Danishes, & More!

Okay guys, it's school update time again! It's the middle of the semester, and we've been cooking up a storm.

In cooking class, we've been making a lot of veggies.  Last week, we made apple and wine braised red cabbage.  I'm not the biggest cabbage fan, but this turned out pretty well and I was happy about it.

We also made ratatouille.  It obviously would have been better with beautiful summer veggies, but we worked with what we had.

 

And, to get started on frying, we made onion rings and blue cheese dressing.

 

~

In baking class last week, it was a cookie extravaganza!  Our little group of 3 people made oatmeal raisin,

 

snickerdoodles,

 

oreo biscotti,

 

and sugar cookies (in dinosaur shapes!)

 

Other groups also made peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. By the time we were done, I didn't think I could ever look at another cookie again.

~

This week, we didn't have cooking class because of a short spring break.  Yesterday, in baking class, we learned about laminated doughs, which include puff pastry, croissant, and danish doughs.  There's an entire class dedicated to laminated doughs, because it is such an intensive process.  So, we just watched our instructor demonstrate how to do it, and used ready-made puff pastry and danish doughs to practice different ways to use them.

With the puff pastry, we made apple turnovers.

 

They were nice and flaky.

 

Even with the packaged danish dough, we had to roll, cut, and proof the danishes.

 

We filled them with cherry, blueberry, and apple fillings. Then, we lightly brushed them in a marmalade glaze, and finally, they were drizzled with a simple icing.

 

I usually think of danishes as being dry, but man, these were so soft and delicious.