Showing posts with label cooking club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking club. Show all posts

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Week 4: September 6-12,Tarte Aux Abricots or Peches (Apricot or Peach Tart), pg. 639 (KPH)



Kimberley: (left picture)
I was nervous to start this week's recipe because of my experience with last week's recipe which was, in my eyes, less than successful. I called Mom in the morning to review the recipe with her and see if she was going to use apricots or peaches. Neither one of us were able to find fresh apricots and peaches are in season, so the decision was made for us.

There are actually three recipes involved in this week's recipe. First you have to make a Pate Brisee Sucree (Sweet Short Paste) on pg. 533. This recipe was pretty confusing because it lists the ingredients for 1 cup ratios, but then the recipe is based on 2/3 cup, and I needed 1 1/2 cups. Fortunately, Dad was around and figured out the new units of measure for us. I made the pastry in the mixer which worked fine and put it in the freezer to cool down for rolling. The first time I tried to roll it out, it was a sticky mess even though I followed the right amount of time in the freezer. I put it back in the freezer for another hour and the second time it rolled out just fine.

Slicing and arranging the peaches went fine, except that the recipe does not state how thick the slices should be. I had to bake the tarte for longer than the recipe said, in order to get syrupy juices. I had to modify the apricot glaze recipe on page 593 because I started with homemade apricot jam, not preserves. My jam would not go through a sieve. My modified recipe seemed to work fine.

For dinner we had grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, and roasted summer squash and zucchini. We had the tarte for dessert. It is half gone. We each had two servings. It is very good. Connor really liked it, especially the crust which he thought tasted more like a cookie. The recipe was a success!

Taste: 5
Ease of preparation: 3 (lots of time in-between steps)
Presentation: 4 (nice looking dessert)
Price: 1-2 (especially with my own fruit)
Would make it again? Yes, I would. It is a very tasty, pretty dessert. I would also like to try an apricot tarte and an apple tarte.

Sar: (Picture on the right)
I enjoyed making the peach tart. As you can see, my crust was not too pretty. Next time, I’ll use the sweet paste amounts for two cups.

That will give me plenty to cover the pie pan and maybe some for cookies. I also used your homemade apricot jam with the recipe as is except for the straining.

Rating:

Taste: 5 - It was better cold than hot, but both were delicious.

Ease of preparation: 3 – It was fun to roll out the dough and it was nice to have a recipe that did not involve whipping egg whites or cream..

Presentation: 2

Price: 1-2

I would definitely make it again and would like to try the apricot version.


Friday, August 28, 2009

Week 2 [8/23-8/30] Reine De Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake), pg. 677. Frosting is Glacage Au Chocolat (Chocolate Butter Icing), pg. 684





Sar: (Bottom picture)

The almond cake was a success. It did not take that long to make and it was good. As with Julia’s recipes so far, it did generate a lot of dirty dishes. I rate it as follows:

Taste – 4.8

Ease of preparation – 1-2

Presentation – 3.5

Price – 1

I definitely would make it again and maybe use rum next time instead of coffee.


Kimberley: (Top three pictures)

I made my cake the day after Sar, so I was able to call and check on what things should look like at different times. It is delicious, but unbelievably rich. I made two cakes and already froze one, but I think I will freeze most of the first one as well. A very little piece was enough for me. I agree with Sar about the dirty dishes; lots of dirty dishes! The frosting was very easy to do, and full of butter, of course!

My ratings are:

Taste: 4

Ease of Preparation: 3 (kind of fussy)

Presentation: 4

Price: 2

Would I make it again? Maybe. I have a lot of chocolate cake recipes that are not this fussy and are also delicious.


Mom: (no picture)


Delicious and very rich. It says it serves 6-8, but certainly could serve 12. I used a 9" pan so it did not come up in the pan as much. I would use an 8" pan next time. It was very tender and fell apart when I flipped it. Next time I would let it cool right on the serving plate.


Taste: 5

Ease of Preparation: 3

Presentation: 4

Price: 2-3

Would I make it again? Yes I would.



Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The First 10 Weeks

Week 1: August 16-22, Boeuf Bourguinon, pg. 315 (KPH) [Review will be posted soon!]

Week 2: August 23-29, Reine De Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake), pg. 677 (SAR)

Week 3: August 30-September 5, Mousse A L'Orange (Orange Mousse- frozen dessert), pg. 603 (MOM)

Week 4: September 6-12,Tarte Aux Abricots or Peches (Apricot or Peach Tart), pg. 639 (KPH)

Week 5 September 13-19, Potage Parmentier (Onion and Potato Soup), pg. 37 (SAR)

Week 6: September 20-26, Biscuits A La Cuiller (Ladyfingers), pg. 667 (MOM)

Week 7: September 27-10/3, Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (Chicken Breasts with
Mushrooms and Cream), pg. 269 (KPH)

Week 8: October 4-10, Souffle Aux Epinards (Spinach Souffle), pg. 165 (SAR)

Week 9: October 11-17, Roti de Porc Grand' Mere (Casserole-roasted Pork with Potatoes and Onions), pg. 382 (MOM)

Week 10: October 18-24, Souffle A La Vanille (Vanilla Souffle), pg. 614 (KPH)

Week 11: October 25-31, TBD