Babas au Rhum

All my plans for choux and frasiers went out the window when I read Tartelette's post on babas au rhum. The combination of citrus, cardamom, and rum captivated my imagination immediately. I'm quite fond of rum, and we just happened to have nearly a full bottle of dark Bacardi, so I took it into my head to make a batch.

Now, I have practically no experience with French pastries. The only "French basic" that I'd attempted before today was génoise cake. That generally turned out well when I made it, but there was always a high chance I'd forget to add the butter at the end. So, trying my hand at another basic recipe, babas au rhum (or pâte á babas to be more specific) was definitely going to be an adventure.
Let me just say that it was nerve-racking. I'm terribly unfamiliar with the methods of the French pâte, and at each step of the way I was constantly fretting, "O! but what if it's too wet? What if it doesn't rise properly?" In the end, it turned out rather well for a first attempt, I think, but there's most definitely room for me to improve. Patience, perhaps, during the rising would be a good place to start. I always say that the two things I don't like about baking are the waiting and the fact that if you screw up there's no fixing it. The waiting was definitely the worst here. The first rising is long enough that you can prepare the compote and the syrup and still have time to spare... Thank goodness for trashy fantasy novels! I'd get all squirrelly otherwise.


Citrus and Cardamom Babas au Rhum

(I'm writing the instructions as I followed them. One of the difficult things here was the measurements by mass rather than volume, and since my kitchen scale is not particularly accurate I decided to double-check based on volume. I've noted the conversions here for the most part, except where it comes out to a fraction you can't measure with standard equipment.)

Babas:
3g (≈ 3/4 tsp) instant dry yeast
20g (≈ 2 Tbsp) warm water
5g (≈ 1 + 1/4 tsp) sugar
100g (≈ 12 Tbsp 2 + 1/2 tsp) flour
2g salt (≈ a dash) salt (unless you're the kind of person who has a measuring spoon for "dash," in which case it's ≈ 5 dashes)
1 large egg (yaye no metric!)
60g (≈ 1/4 cup) milk
40g (≈ 3 Tbsp) melted and cooled butter
50g Citrus Compote (recipe follows)

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in water to proof
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg and milk
• Using the paddle attachment, mix the yeast, flour, butter, and salt into the egg mixture
• Mix until combined and you have a soft dough (This was the first pitfall. When you first mix the ingredients, you get a sort of batter, which begins to come away from the sides of the bowl with mixing. Child (who I really should have consulted before I began) writes that you should have a true dough, rather than a batter. Perhaps I should have beaten the mixture longer? In any case, it became rather more doughy as it was left to rise, and it did rise properly)
• Let rise until doubled in volume. As Child says, this takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours
  

Meanwhile, butter the molds you will use (I used large muffin tins), and prepare the compote and syrup.

Compote:
100g (≈ 1/2 cup) sugar
100g (= 100 mL) water
100g mixed citrus (I used most of a navel orange and a little more than half a lemon, plus the zest of both)
6 cardamom pods

• Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat
• Cook 2 minutes
• Let cool, then remove the cardamom pods
• Purée the compote until smooth

Syrup:
100g (≈ 100 mL) orange juice
100g (≈ 100 mL ≈ 3.5+ oz) rum (I used dark rum)
70g (≈ 5 Tbsp + 2 tsp) sugar

• Bring ingredients to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved
• Cool to room temperature

When the first rising is complete,

• Preheat oven to 400°F
  
• Add the compote to the dough and fully incorporate. The mixture will be quite liquid (which was rather worrisome to me. Would it rise properly? I wondered. It did)
  
• Fill each mold halfway with the mixture
• Allow to rise until doubled in volume (I may have jumped a little early here...)
• Bake for about 15 minutes (I went for a full twenty because when tested with a toothpick they kept looking like they were underdone...but I ended up carbonising their sorry little asses. I may have needed to use a slower oven, maybe around 375, to cook them more evenly)
• Cool on a wire rack
• When cooled, set the molds in hot water, and free the babas from their buttery prisons!
• Place the syrup in a shallow pan or plate
• Allow the babas to imbibe the syrup, first face down, then right side up, for a total of one minute
• Refrigerate the babas, covered, until plating time
• Serve with syrup

I definitely needed to use more cardamom in this recipe. The tartness of the citrus overpowered the spice. While the cake itself was rather tart, once it had imbibed the syrup it had a very pleasant and balanced flavour. It was sweet, tart, and mellow, with a whiff of alcohol. The cake was moist, and its outermost layer was pleasantly soaked with syrup. While these definitely could have suffered to bulk up a bit, either through longer rising or deeper molds, I'd have to say this was a successful first attempt.

Baking Powder Biscuits, Sweet Tea, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

EDIT: this post was a long time in coming because I kept hoping to be able to take pictures for it...but alas the camera was not cooperating, and the food disappeared like that!

It's almost like I'm trying to be Southern or something! Well, cooks south of the Mason-Dixon Line do have plenty of common sense when it comes to food. Us Yankees could suffer to learn a few things from them. For one thing, they use plenty of fat in their cooking, whether butter or drippings. For another, anyone who invents sweet tea is just genius!

So, since I began making them last year, biscuits have been in constant demand with my family. They really are a joy to make. They can be very hands-on and messy. They're also a joy to eat, and between my huge appetite and my brother's, they go pretty fast. Biscuits are exceptionally versatile; they can be eaten plain, or with just about any topping, made into many kinds of sandwich, and are good at any meal. This recipe for baking powder biscuits comes from James Beard's rather entertainingly titled Beard on Bread. They're very easy to make, bake quickly, and require minimal equipment.

2 cups flour
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (about 218°C)
• Combine the dry ingredients. Beard says to sift them together
• Cut in the butter until small particles form. I long ago gave up "cutting in" and just go at it with my hands.
• Mix in the milk, and knead for one minute.
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 1/8 - 1/4 inch. I generally go for thicker
  
• Cut into biscuits! I make square biscuits to avoid overworking the dough making rounds
• Bake on an ungreased, unfloured baking sheet for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden on top
• Remove from the oven and transfer biscuits to a wire cooling rack
• Serve warm

I generally make a double recipe. You need slightly more than four cups of flour when you double, for whatever reason. Many variations can be made on this recipe. One of my favourites is to make beer biscuits. In a double recipe, just substitute a bottle of porter or stout (or weißbier, even) for the milk. Beard's recipe for buttermilk biscuits is only a slight variation on the baking powder method.
Troubleshooting: when you're beginning, it's easy to overwork the dough. If the biscuits come out a little tough, that's why. If the biscuits are slightly over or under done, only adjust the cooking time by one or two minutes--it's easy to overdo them! If the biscuits are flat or rather un-fluffy, make them thicker, and make sure your baking powder is still good. To do this, add a little to a glass of water. It should fizz, and not at all weakly.

I was first introduced to sweet tea on a robotics club trip to Atlanta, Georgia. Ever since then, I've been in love with it. When I chance to travel in the South (never mind it's usually in places with high populations of Yankees *laugh*), I always have sweet tea with at least one meal. Try as I may, I can never get it to taste quite as good as they do...but I'm trying! Irrespective, this is one of my favourite summer drinks. I love a glass of ice-cold sweet tea after I've been out mowing the lawn!

The basic method for making sweet tea is very simple, if unrefined. I call it the 3-2-1 Method. It's sufficient, but I definitely want to refine this method. Anyway, here are basics:

3 tsp tea (or tea leaves for three)
2 cups water
1 cup sugar or honey, or some combination of the two (occasionally I combine them by thirds or fourths)
1/4 tsp baking soda

• Put the tea into the water and bring to a boil
• Remove from the heat and add the baking soda. This will help neutralise the astringent tannins in the tea, as well as darken the colour of the tea
• Strain and mix with the sweetener
• Dilute to approximately 1 quart with plain water
• Chill

Cup for cup this has more sugar than Coca Cola, but who cares? It's yummy! And really, you don't need to use a full cup of sweetener. As it is, the sugar threatens to overwhelm the flavour of the tea. As I work with this, I'd expect I'll tone the sugar back, probably closer to 3/4 cup or 2/3 cup.

Sweet potatoes are, in my opinion, absolutely amazing. Not just because they're sweet and orange, either! They're remarkably versatile, and fit in meals for every season. They also make very good lunches and snacks baked whole. This was my first attempt at making mashed sweet potatoes, and I have to say, I think it went pretty well. My taste buds are still not quite adjusted back to normal from the overly salty, overly greasy food I had at UMass, but the seasoning seemed to work out just fine.

3 sweet potatoes
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

• Peel the potatoes and chop into large pieces
• In a pot, cover the potatoes with cold water, and bring to a boil
• Simmer until the potatoes are tender. I had the pot covered during cooking, but more out of intuition than anything
• Drain, and immediately add the butter. Mash to combine
• Add the sugar, and finish the mashing
• Salt and pepper to taste

I have to say, as hard as I tried, my brother still does a better job mashing potatoes than I do. I'll have him do the honours next time.

My next adventure, I think, is going to be choux a la creme, more commonly known as cream puffs. (What can I say? I love the French name. Blame Antique Bakery.) Perhaps after I manage those, I'll be bold enough to attempt the Gâteau St. Honoré. On the other hand, Tartelette's chilled lemon and strawberry frasiers look like they'd be a lot of fun~ Who knows? More baking on the list, undoubtedly, and probably stir-fry, since my mother's been dropping hints.

Review: Rt. 9 Diner

Yesterday (well, technically the day before, now. Gotta stop this night-owl blogging!) was moveout, and it was surprisingly easy. So, one year of college, done! Exciting exciting! And now I'm back home in Jersey. Ah, the joys of being home... And I'm excited for Jersey Fresh produce! Rhubarb should be coming in soon, and strawberries are just starting, so some fun stuff with those may be showing up soon. And, of course, the family-favourite biscuits are at the top of my to-do list, so they'll probably be next post.

I'd overslept yesterday, so I skipped breakfast. Turns out this worked in my favour, because by the time we were done moving everything out it was lunch time! My father took me out to lunch at the Rt. 9 Diner, which I had recommended. I'd had an absolutely delightful breakfast (never mind that it was after noon!) there with Matchstick some weeks earlier, and I had been craving it again. So, since I hadn't had breakfast at the usual time, and was still craving breakfast food, I had what could only be called a diner breakfast: two eggs over easy, with wheat toast, bacon, homefries, grapefruit, and a cup of coffee.

OMG so good! Fried eggs are something that I'm rather picky about, just as I am with quite a few other foods. These eggs were amazingly good. They're cooked so the whites are fully cooked, but still tender and flavourful. They're perfectly done, and the yolks are still runny. There's absolutely no eggy odour at all. And, of course, they go deliciously with the toast, which is warm, perfectly crisped, and slathered with butter. You don't need to salt the eggs if you eat them with the toast. (I do, however, pepper the hell out of my eggs. This is due in part to a scene from All the Pretty Horses, but is mostly because my dear friend Ami got me addicted to black pepper during our camping adventure last summer. All I can say is, "pepper is yummy.")
The bacon is made exceptionally well. If anyone says that they don't like bacon, they ought to try the Rt. 9 Diner's bacon. It's cut thick, with more meat than fat. It's cooked perfectly, neither soggy nor crunchy, and it's just salty enough without going overboard. It's really a joy to eat.
The homefries are flavourful and soft. Perhaps a little softer than some are accustomed to (Matchstick mentioned they were a little softer than he would have expected when I mentioned I was writing this review), but hearty and filling nonetheless. They're made with green peppers, too, which is unusual, but it gives a nice textural contrast.
The grapefruit was delicious, of the ruby red variety. When I went with Matchstick, the grapefruit was a white grapefruit, so it was rather more tart, but this one was sweet and sour and refreshing, a perfect finish for a heavy breakfast. I love grapefruit, so I enjoy both white and red varieties, but if you're the kind of person who likes to honey or sugar their grapefruit, I'd definitely recommend red over white.
And now we get to the coffee. It's diner coffee. If you're looking for good coffee, hie thee to Starbucks! But, at the same time, it's not really bad. I've had bad diner coffee, and I've had good diner coffee. This was definitely good diner coffee. I don't know why I like diner coffee. As coffees go it's pretty bad, but there's just something about it... And with half and half and two sugars, it goes perfectly with a diner breakfast.

I also ordered a piece of their baklava. It was, needless to say, diner baklava. I'm accustomed to baklava being crisp and flaky on the outside, with honey-sweet layers of filo and nuts inside. This, however, was sodden with honey. There was very little difference in texture between all of its components, but it was rich, and tasted of spiced honey and nuts. If you're expecting true baklava, this isn't what you'll want to get, but if you're looking for diner food, this is a delicious finish to a meal!

The diner itself is delightful. Its interior is very well decorated, and it can get absolutely packed without being claustrophobic. It's classic, really, with its chrome, glass, deep booths, bar, and jukebox. There are also little jukeboxes on the wall of each booth. They have a delightful selection of music, both older music and more modern. The waitstaff is friendly and efficient. It really is a delight to eat there, and I highly recommend the Rt. 9 Diner.

Review: Paradise of India

So, tomorrow's moving-out day for me. Aaah! Exciting! I still have more packing to do, mostly on account of my cookware, which isn't really space-efficient. I'm going to have to do some creative packing in my steamer trunk to get everything sorted. Thank the gods for silicone bakeware! For lo, it folds!

My father came up this evening (well, technically last evening now) in preparation for tomorrow's moveout, and we went out to dinner at Paradise of India. I've been meaning to try this restaurant for some time, but between schedule craziness and never really organising a night out with Day (or anyone else for that matter), I haven't had the opportunity until now.

The first thing we noticed when we walked into the restaurant was the smell. The whole place smelled deliciously of spices and oil. The interior was well, if nondescriptly, decorated, with quite a few plants in the broad storefront window. It was pretty late, almost 20.45, so the restaurant was pretty empty. The waiter was...effective, but impersonal. A television was nattering away in the back, which was for the most part unobtrusive.

We ordered our usual Indian standbys. My father had lamb vindaloo, I had chana masala. We also got rice and an order of naan. For desert I had masala tea and gulabjamun, he had ginger ice cream and black tea.
The rice was cooked well. It was relatively plain, which is just fine when it's eaten with flavourful foods, but I'm accustomed to Indian restaurants spicing their rice. The naan was rather thinner than I'm accustomed to, but it was warm, tender, delicious, and liberally brushed with ghee.
The chana masala (stewed chickpeas) was of a rather different sort than I usually have. Rather than being spicy, it was sweet. It was nice, but definitely not what I was expecting. I'm much more used to a thick, hearty, spicy stew. This was rather lighter, sweet, and flavourful. The chickpeas were cooked well, and the chunks of tomato provided a nice textural and flavour contrast with the sauce.
The lamb vindaloo was flavourful, although not quite what I would expect. Its spice level was pretty high, but the heat definitely took a little while to kick in. Not excruciatingly hot, like vindaloo/paal is generally purported to be, but definitely not for the sensitive. The potatoes were well cooked, and the lamb was tender, moist, and flavourful.
Both dishes were, however, rather nondescript. Nothing to "write home about."
Gulabjamun is a type of deep fried sponge cake which is doused with syrup and various flavourings. These were cinnamon gulabjamun, and were soaked with syrup and rosewater. I really didn't know what to expect with them, since the only two Indian sweets I've ever had are mango lassi and kheer. They had a texture similar to doughnuts, and were sweet and had a light cinnamon flavour. The way they imbibed the sweet syrup gave them a soft exterior which oozed syrup when they were bitten, while their centres were soft and moist, but not at all wet. I couldn't taste the rosewater. Overall, they were rather like cider doughnuts, Indian style. A fun dessert, but not spectacular. Had the flavour of the rosewater been present, they would have been more balanced and more exciting. I would also probably add a little cardamom to the syrup to round out the cinnamon flavour.
The masala tea went nicely with the gulabjamun. It was, however, like everything else, not particularly exciting. Just a run-of-the-mill chai.

Overall, Paradise of India was nice, but not really a spectacular restaurant. The food was nondescript and the portions were rather small. If you're craving Indian, you'd be better off going into Northampton.

The End of the Semester is a Perfect Time to Start a Food Blog

Well, in one way, I suppose. Starting out with summer cooking gives me a chance to refresh my memory and get back in the swing of cooking. It'll also give me a chance to expand my repertoire, and actually write down some of my recipes! This last thing will be especially important, since I'm going to be starting a "little black cookbook" for my boyfriend, Matchstick, which he'll be able to use in our kitchen escapades next semester. Lucky [Hampshire!] boy's going to be living in a Mod, so he'll have a full kitchen, a far sight better than the mini one I'll have in Brown. So, we're anticipating plenty of fun once we're back, and I'd expect we'll have a few fun culinary adventures when he comes to visit me in July.

So, on to the main topic[s!] of the Premier Post~!


Hard Boiled Eggs

An old standby, and one of the best snack foods. Yet, for some odd reason, I know how to fry eggs, but didn't know how to boil eggs until just recently. I'd expect many people "know how to make hard boiled eggs," but don't do it quite properly, at least judging from my childhood memories of rubbery eggs and grey yolks. But those problems are for troubleshooting. First, the procedure! After comparing several methods, this is what I've come up with. It works well in my electric kettle, so I'd expect it works well on a stovetop too.

You have to allow enough space between the eggs so the water can bathe them, so I only cook four or five at a time.

• Put eggs in the kettle and cover with water
• Bring to a boil on the highest setting. On a stove, you probably shouldn't go quite full bore.
• Allow to boil for one full minute
• Unplug the kettle and allow the eggs to sit for twelve to fifteen minutes. I usually go for 12 minutes
• After the eggs have been let to sit in the hot water, drain the water and cover the eggs with cold water. Swirl them, then drain and refill with cold water

And that's how to make eggs! When they're opened (I like to cut them open then scoop out the meat), they should not have an eggy odour. The yolk should be light yellow and of a uniform consistency. The yolks should not be grainy, but almost creamy; the whites should be tender.

If the yolk takes on a grey or greenish tint, especially on the outside where it meets the white, it's a sign that the egg has been cooked too long. Reducing the time it sits in the hot water should solve the problem. If the yolk is grainy, it means it was boiled too long or too hard. This kind of treatment will also cause a grey layer on the outside of the yolk. An eggy smell and rubbery white mean that the egg was cooked too long. Reducing the time the eggs sit in the hot water should take care of this problem, too.

Lots of people insist on salting their eggs, but I've just been eating them as-is. They're quite good, really. I prefer to cut the egg in half, then use a spoon to first eat the yolk, and then the white, separating it carefully from the shell.

Fresh Side, a review

So, on Friday, which was the 16th, Matchstick took me out to dinner at Fresh Side, which bills itself as "a little eatery and tea place." As Matchstick says,"it's awkward if you've slept with the waiters, but the food's good[sic]." So, yes, one of my former...uh...paramours...works at Fresh Side, but usually works backend. That night, of course, just to make things interesting, he ended up being our waiter! *cough* So, yeah. But drama was avoided, and we enjoyed our meal quite a lot.

Of course, when I say "our meal," I really mean, "our meal and a portion of some other stuff too." The place was absolutely packed, and the entire staff was completely discombobulated and out of their minds because of it. We ordered pad thai with chicken and Thai basil cellophane noodles with chicken, and also some Edo tea rolls. The first time 'round something somewhere went toes-up and we ended up with vegan pad thai and Peking pasta. They both looked, smelled, and tasted quite nice, but alas were not what we ordered. Our order was eventually set aright, and our tea rolls came out, and we ordered a pot of Moroccan mint tea.

The tea was not what is customarily thought of as Moroccan tea, that is to say it was not a strong, decocted green tea diluted with mint tea and sweetened. It was, rather, a combination of gunpowder green tea and mint tea, steeped in sweet water. It was delicious, and actually went quite well with the meal. The pot was, however, a little too small to warrant the price. The tea rolls were rice with a wheat wrap, topped with peanut sauce and crushed peanuts. They were quite good, although perhaps a bit unwieldy. The wrappers themselves were a little too chewy, but the flavour made up for it. There was allegedly cilantro in the rolls as well, but I couldn't taste it.
The pad thai was delicious, rich, and spicy. Matchstick added a little peanut sauce to it, and the combination was quite good, although in my opinion the rich sauce was perhaps a little overkill. The noodles were cooked perfectly. They did have a tendency, however, to stick together and clump. The chicken was rather bland; it was obvious that it was boiled separately.
The Thai basil noodles were cooked perfectly, and not at all sticky. They had a faint dark green colour from the basil, and there were whole basil leaves mixed in. They had a strong, delicious scent, and the flavour of the basil was very strong. The basil was wonderfully complimented by ginger, onion, and spinach. While their method of slicing the ginger was perhaps not as refined as would be expected from a chic Asian-fusion restaurant, the large, crunchy slices of ginger provided a bright and refreshing contrast with the dark and pungent flavour of the basil. The chicken was rather better than in the pad thai, but it had obviously been parboiled separately and then finished in the sauce. It was a little less flavourful than one would expect, and slightly dry. But, that was a minor detain in an otherwise spectacular dish. It was very filling.
All three dishes made wonderful leftovers.

The restaurant itself is very cute, and nicely decorated. Their glassware is quite nice, water ("But it's tap water!" Matchstick cried. "They could have at least boiled it." Ah, OCD is so cute) in wine bottles or spring-capped bottles, nicely curved vodka shot glasses for tea cups... The atmosphere of the place is private, even though it can get quite loud on a busy night. The prices are pretty decent. Matchstick says of it, "definitely a nice place to stop by." I highly recommend it.