Oh Baby Baby!

By now you are all probably aware that I find Orangette to be very inspiring. It is through her articles in Bon Appetit and her blog, that I decided I MUST have a blog of my own.

Several weeks back, I was perusing her index of recipes and came across this! I had never heard of a Dutch baby Pancake. But it sounded and looked marvelous. I was intent to make them. The problem was that my cast iron skillet has done so much blackening, I felt it would alter the flavor of a pastry-type dish. I needed another cast iron skillet. Well they aren't very pricey so I why not. I decided that 2 small skillets would be nice for the sweet convections I might decide to make and that is the way "Jimmy" does it in this recipe.

Well Target only had a 12" skillet. So did Cost Plus, William Sonoma and a couple other places. It would work but I had it in my mind that I wanted 2 small ones! Time for some online sleuthing. Crate and Barrel HAD them! Yeah! Also Sur la Table offers a few different sizes.

FINALLY, I get to make these Dutch babies!! It was so easy. And fairly quick!

And the result...
These darling puffy little bowls of yum! It was so amazing how the pastry began to rise and inflate in the oven. I think they are rather impressive looking. And the taste? So delicious with the lemon and powdered sugar sprinkled all over. The kids just inhaled them. I didn't realize until making it how eggy it would be. There really isn't that much flour in these, mostly egg.

I highly recommend you try them. And I think they are so impressive and easy, I am letting the old noggin try to divine a new twist to them as a dessert for after dinner. Not that they couldn't be as is but maybe with a little caramel sauce or??? I will think about it and get back to you.

Bloggin' on Brunch Part 2... The Cinnamon Rolls!

Since the impetus for my brunch was the platinum chef challenge, I wanted to keep that post about the items I created for the challenge itself. But I had been looking for a reason (and plenty of time for rising) to make the cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze from Molly Wizenberg's column in Bon Appetit. My brunch on Sunday was the perfect opportunity to try them out.

I made the dough the night before. After the two hour rising time, it was bigger but didn't really seem to have doubled in bulk. I decided to wait just another 1/2 hour or so. I looked the same and I was exhausted so I put the bowl with the ball of dough in the refrigerator. First thing in the morning, I took it out and let it get to room temperature while I busied myself prepping other food, tidying the house etc...

After a couple hours, I continued on with th recipe and baked as directed. Unfortunately just before they were due to be done, my guests arrived and I was so busy greeting etc... that I forgot to take them out on time. (Note: I am horrible about using a timer. I feel all ovens are different and usually just go by instinct and how the food looks.) Fortunately I think it was only about 6 minutes too long. I think this did dry the rolls out a bit but all in all... VERY TASTY! Everyone gobbled them up! There were only two left at the end of the brunch. I'd say it was a hit!

I will for sure make these again. But next time I will do everything but the baking and glaze the night before. I will also take them out a little early as I prefer pastries to be under-done as opposed to overdone. I might also brush the outside of each with butter and the cinnamon sugar as that is the driest portion and who are we kidding, these ARE VERY fattening and full of sugar and calories and carbs so you might as well just push it to the limit and go for full flavor in each nook and cranny!

Making Mayonnaise or Making a Mess?

Well here I am titling my blog "Art and Aioli" and I go and give you a "semi-homemade" aioli recipe to start off with. Then just a couple weeks ago, I open up my Bon Appétit magazine and in it is an article by Molly Wizenberg AKA Orangette and it is all about MAYONNAISE!

Molly is a more than adept chef and a superb writer. I adore the line "...it sat atop a knife with a soft, endearing slump". It is just so visual. And I was just salivating at the end of the article (as her writing has done for me each time actually). I decided right then and there that I would try her recipe right away! How can I have a blog about mayonnaise (garlic or otherwise) without supplying a recipe that is completely from scratch. But then Danielle needed this and Nicholas needed that and there is the house and Miss 'N Nick Designs... Life has a habit of getting in the way of things sometimes! Plus, I really didn't need any mayonnaise or have anyone who would eat it. But I did finally just decide to do it. Who cares if I need it. I just wanted to try it out.

Molly's recipe calls for canola oil but suggests using extra virgin olive oil if you want to make aioli. I did not want to add the garlic to the whole recipe as I thought the kids might prefer it without the garlic. So I proceeded to make the plain mayonnaise but used the olive oil instead of cannola so that I could add the garlic later.

The emulsification was not that difficult actually. Molly says to add the drops one at a time but even if I had the patience, my 3 year old assistant did NOT. Still it came together and was smooth as I whisked. It is hard to hold the bowl still while whisking with one hand and pouring very slowly with the other. Maybe you need an assistant? Or a bowl that adheres to the tabletop?

My end result did not appear as a "...thick, silky sauce..." Rather it was VERY thick and slightly gelatinous in nature. Maybe I (with my zealous assistant) over whisked the eggs? Also as you see in the contrasting photos below, mine is much more yellow. Of course, I am not the photographer that Ms. Wizenberg is. And I did use the extra virgin olive oil too.

The taste of my mayonnaise was good but perhaps a bit strong. I think the extra virgin olive oil was overpowering. Perhaps light olive oil or a better brand would have produced a better or more subtle flavor. Next time I will try it with canola oil and see if it is lighter and more "silky." I didn't ever add the garlic as I was rather over the whole thing by that time and had had enough of the mayonnaise. I did mix it up with some chicken and onions, placed it on a bit of romaine and added the tomatoes. This was rather nice and made a nice snack. Danielle said it was yummy on crackers and bread.

But I was disappointed. Disappointed in the taste. Disappointed in the appearance and my inability to replicate Molly's photo and enthusiasm (or abilities as is probably the case). Perhaps with a little practice....

I will continue to look for or practice the homemade aioli and keep you all abreast of my progress. If you want to read the article from Bon Appétit, you can find it here: http://www.epicurious.com/bonappetit/features/mayo_clinic
And the recipe is here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/241868

If you have any tips or suggestions, please feel free to share. I would love to hear your stories!

PS. Lisa just posted a wonderful sounding mint mayonnaise on her blog: What We Eat. It sounds wonderful with the lamb. Great photos too Lisa!