Book 22: Miette - Meg Ray

I've been fairly slack with my blogging of late, so I will make this as quick as possible.  I have a number of cookbooks that terrify me, I don't mean scary pictures etc, but with recipes that are so complicated or spiffy that I have no idea how I could possibly pull them off.  Zumbo and SugarBaby are two issues, both are impressive and exciting but with so many steps and explanations that my brain shuts down and I start to drool uncontrollably.  So it was with some trepidation (and a bit of panicky wee) that I removed Miette from my bookshelf.  Miette is one of those beautiful, spiffy recipe books that I feel quiet happy to leave on the coffee table, but avoid where possible when it comes to cooking.  Why?  Quite simply, there is a recipe in this book that recommends you sieve the mixture to avoid over mixing in cakes.  That alone is enough to have me shrieking like a girl and running away.  I know sieving the mixture doesn't sound like much, but its a step I would never have considered and seems so serious.  I hate to think what the results will be if I don't have a sieve and what if its not the right sieve?  So ignore my sieve paranoia and enjoy Miette...... arrrgghhh (just realised that makes me sound like a pirate)

Recipe - Gingerbread

1 1/4 cups Plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbls plus 2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbls stout beer, such as Guinness
3/4 cup Molasses
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temp
3/4 sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar. packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Cream cheese frosting (method and ingredients below)

1.  Grease two 7 by 2 inch cake pans and dust with flour.

2.  Preheat the oven to 170c.

3.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

4.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the stout and molasses and bring to a boil.  Whisk in the baking soda.  Be careful and whisk constantly, as the mixture will foam up when you add the soda.  Immediately remove from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temp.

5.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs and sugars and whisk on medium speed until well combined and lightened in colour, 3 to 4 minutes.  Slowly drizzle in the oil and beat until combined.  Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the stout mixture.  Stop the mixture and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then return to low speed and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating until just combined.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape down the sides with a  rubber spatula.  Strain the batter through a medium-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.  Divide it between the prepared pans.

7.  Bake until nicely risen and lightly browned at the edges, about 5-50 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks and let cool in the pans for 20 minutes.  Run an offset spatula around the edges of the pans, then invert the cakes onto the racks and let cool for about 20 minutes longer.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate to ensure that the interiors are completely cooled before decorating, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.  To freeze, wrap tightly in a second layer of plastic and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

8.  To decorate the gingerbread, fit a pastry bag with a medium star tip and fill the bag with the frosting.  Pull up the cuff and twist it to seal and tighten the frosting down into a cone.  Starting at the centre of each cake, pipe frosting in a tight spiral over the surface.  Use an offset spatula to slightly smooth the surface of the frosting.  Garnish with a pink sugar flower or two, if you like.  Serve at room temp.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pound (2 cups) cream cheese (softened)
5.5 ozs unsalted butter, at room temp
5.5 ozs sifted pure icing sugar

1.  In a bowl of  stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat until completely smooth and glossy.
2.  Add the cream cheese to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly.

______________________________________________

Miette is a beautiful book, its the type of book that the publishers/author have put an amazing amount of effort into the presentation.  Everything about it is fancy, from the scalloped edges to the pristinely set out pages.  This is not the type of book you spill cake mixture on!  Beauty aside, this book details recipes from San Francisco's most charming pastry shop (its claim, not mine) and is full of interesting recipes like Hot Milk Cake, Bumblebee Cake and Chocolate Orange Scones.  But it is all terribly intimidating!  I'm not sure if the book itself is the issue (you have read of my messiness) or the often complicated recipes, or it could possibly be the steps that require lots of time?  Which ever it is, I love looking at this book but I've never thought about cooking from it.  Making this recipe hasn't altered my opinion much.

 A very bad photo, but my icing job isn't much better

When the recipe says gingerbread, don't think ginger bread mean with royal icing and smarties!  This is old fashioned dense and rich gingerbread.  Its actually not to bad to make, but does take a bit of time with cooling etc.  I wasn't a massive fan of the cake itself, although its smells amazing whilst cooking, but Matty seemed to love it and polished off both cakes.  If you love the dark richness of  molasses, I would totally recommend this cake, be warned though it is very heavy and you will only need a small slice.  I think next time I make something from this book I'll give the Hot Milk cake ago, the unfortunate thing is I most likely won't cook from this again.  It has a massive section of instructions at the front which they tell you to read through before every recipe, this kind of annoys me so I didn't do it.... I'm a rebel that way!..... :)

Thanks
Kate
xx

Book 21: Fast Meals - The Australian Women's Weekly

I'm having a bit of a Women's Weekly run at the moment, strangely I've been sticking to the random number draw and it obviously likes them.  Normally if the random number draw picks something I'm unsure about or just don't like, I accidentally miscount and pick something I do like.  The problem with this (god I say that allot!) is I can see myself getting to the last 30 books and them all being ones I don't really want to cook from.  I don't know why I don't like some cook books, but I seem to have a stack of books that I'm not really sure how they got on my bookshelf, let alone where they came from.  Because of this and the influx of newer books (really trying to restrict myself), the books I don't like tend to be pushed to the side, where I can easily ignore them.  So in attempt to be fair I have made a point of picking a few that I've been avoiding.  You know how they say don't judge a book by its cover?  I totally ignore that.  If a cover doesn't grab me, nothing will make me look inside (of cookbooks!! I'm not totally shallow!).  The unfortunate thing about this book is they have decided to go with Rissoles for the front cover, why the hell would you put risoles on a front cover???  When I'm looking to sell a cookbook (cos I've sold so many!!) rissoles would not be the first thing that came to mind cover wise, there is nothing wrong with rissoles!  But have you ever picked up a cookbook with Rissoles on the front cover (pretty sure this is the only one!) and thought "Holy smokes Batman!!  They have a recipe for Rissoles, I must have it!!"?  I haven't and I have a cookbook addiction!  (I also have no idea where this book came from)  So my cookbook issues aside, please enjoy Fast Meals..... how well have a sold this!! :)

Recipe - Moroccan Lamb with Lemony Couscous

8 lamb fillets (800g)
1 tbls ground cumin
1 tbls ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
200g low-fat yogurt
300g couscous
375ml boiling water
1 tsp peanut oil
50g currants
2  tsp finely granted lemon rind
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh coriander

1.  Combine lamb, spices and 1/3 cup of the yogurt in a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight

2.  Cook lamb on a heated oiled grill plate until cooked as desired.  Cover and stand for 5 minutes, slice thinly.

3.  Meanwhile, combine couscous, the water and oil in a large heatproof bowl, cover and stand for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, fluffing with a fork occasionally.  Sit in currants, rind, juice and coriander.

4.  Serve lamb with couscous, drizzle with remaining yogurt.

________________________________________________

So ranting aside, everything in this book is fast!  (shocking considering the title) And to be honest, if I put my dislike (totally unwarranted) aside, the book is perfectly fine.  There are heaps of quick and easy recipes to make and some of them look quite delicious.  The reason this book doesn't appeal to may have something to do with Jamie Oliver (and the Rissoles), Jamie's 30 Minute Meal's is something of a cooking crush of mine at the moment.  Unfortunately because of this Fast Meals looks second best... but it may also be that the above recipe tainted my view.... (Rissoles!!)

The recipe, sounds delicious!  Moroccan Lamb with Lemony Couscous, I love lamb and I love couscous, brilliant in theory.  Unfortunately its quite horrid,  the couscous especially is not good.  I'm not sure why exactly it doesn't work, but although it looks and sounds like it will be fantastic, the lemon, coriander etc just work against each other.  Granted I was making it quickly and had some assistance, but even my inattention couldn't stuff it up that badly that most of it was left on the plate.  Maybe there is a reason Rissoles are on the front cover?.....

Thanks
Kate
xx

This was a French Apple Tart I was going to feature in an upcoming book, but unfortunately its so good I'm not sharing it :P