Monday, November 18, 2013

Braised Turkey Legs


I don't cook turkey and there is not much anyone could say to make me change my mind about this bird. Why on earth would anyone want to eat turkey when there is duck or even chicken? But in comes Kenji Alt with his braised turkey leg idea, and for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to try a turkey dish. It turned out so good, I might actually cook turkey again. I followed Kenji's recipe pretty closely with a few minor tweaks:

  • My legs came already cut into thighs and drum sticks.  That made it easier to fit into the pan.
  • I pre-salted them the night before.
  • I needed to cook them almost 3 hours (the recipe said 2), though I did start at a lower temperature (250F instead of 275F).  
  • I felt like the sauce needed a bit of tomato product even though the recipe didn't call for it.  Normally, I would have used a tablespoon or two of tomato paste, but I didn't have any on hand, so instead I finished it with a tablespoon of pomegranate syrup.  It was not obtrusive, but added a great depth and complexity to the sauce.
Here is a thorough critic of the finished dish:
  • The sauce was fantastic and abundant, which is important when cooking turkey.  Really, where would Thanksgiving table be without the gravy?  I only needed 1.5 Tbsp of butter and 1.5 Tbsp of flour to thicken.
  • The texture of the meat that was submerged in the sauce during cooking was outstanding -- succulent and very soft.  
  • The texture of the meat that was above the sauce was a bit dry.  The basic idea of this dish is that you keep the skin above the liquid to prevent it from getting soggy.  As any remedy, this one is not without side effects.  The skin was indeed tasty.  But the meat in those parts was a tad dry -- not a show stopper, and I doubt anyone besides Jason and me would notice.  With enough sauce, it was all delicious, but I think I would do it a bit differently next time.  Thighs were easier to deal with.  The skin was flat and on top so it was easy to keep just that part above the liquid.  If I wanted to keep the skin crisp, I would only use thighs.  The drumsticks have the skin all around, so you have to decide how much meat you want to sacrifice to the crispy skin.  If I was cooking drumsticks, I would not worry about crispy skin and flip them half way through or cook partially covered.
  • The parts of meat that came out perfectly (the parts submerged in the liquid) reminded me of coq au vin.  Not that I've ever tasted a real coq au vin, but that's what I always imagined it would taste like.  The original dish was created for a rooster that would be a tough old bird and required hours of slow cooking to soften.  Do you know where to get an old rooster?  I don't.  The chickens we buy in the stores are tender babies whose legs soften almost immediately.  I've made yummy dishes with them that involve red wine and mushrooms, but that's not coq au vin.  Is "dinde au vin" a dish?  If not, it should be.



Sunday, November 17, 2013

Rolling out Pie Dough and a Few Tart Tips (Video)

Once you are a proud owner of the Vodka Pie Dough, you are on your way to wowing your family and friends with all sorts of sweet and savory delights.  But first there are a few more techniques to master and that's what this video is about.


YouTube Link: Rolling Pie Dough, Blind Baking, and Unmolding a Tart
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

FAQ about this technique

What do you do with trimmed pieces?
Collect them, smoosh them together into a little disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.  Then you can roll them out and make a little tart or galette.

Do you always need to blind bake an open faced tart?
If your filling is not too wet (not custard), you can freeze the tart shell for 30 minutes, fill, and bake.  But when in doubt, blind baking is safer.

How long should you bake after getting the beans out?
If I am baking for a quiche or some other custard filling, I bake all the way.  Custards are baked at a much lower temperature (about 325F) and they prevent the dough from baking once you pour them in, so it's best to pre-bake the tart shell until it's golden brown throughout.  After you get the beans out, lower the temperature to 375F and continue baking in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes.  If you are pre-baking for a filling that's not a custard, you only need the bottom to dry up (not feel like soft dough anymore), but it should still be pale.  That should take 5-7 minutes after you get the beans out.

What apples and pears work for baking?
You want apples and pear that hold shape and don't turn to mush.
Apples: Honey crisp, Pink Lady, Mutsu, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Golden Delicious.
Pears: Bosc, Taylor Gold

Do you precook the fruit?
If you are baking a double crust pie, precooking the apples will help them hold shape (yes, it's counter intuitive), and the filling won't be as soupy.  For galettes and tarts, I find it beneficial to toss the fruit with sugar and whatever else you want to add about an hour before baking.  Letting the fruit macerate like that, releases it's juice and helps it brown during baking.  I reserve those juices (you don't want all that wetness in your tart shell), reduce them in a little sauce pan and use as a glaze half way through baking time.  It produces beautifully browned fruit edges.  

How do you thicken the filling?
For very soupy fillings (blueberries, rhubarb, etc), I add 1 peeled and grated apple.  It dissolves and becomes not noticeable, but the pectin from the apple thickens the filling without that awful starchy taste that traditional thickeners give you.

What are your favorite recipes to make with this dough?
Galettes -- these are free form tarts with the dough covering the filling on the edges, but not in the center.  
Tomato Fennel Tart Tatin (if tomatoes aren't in season, you can use oven roasted canned tomatoes)




Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Vodka Pie Dough by Hand Video

Want to make vodka pie dough, but don't have a food processor?  No problem.  Here is how to do it by hand with a pastry blender. If you have a processor, try this video instead.


YouTube Link: Pie Dough by Hand with Vodka
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Pie Dough Recipe
For one 9-inch Double-Crust Pie( or two 11- inch tarts)
Works for both sweet and savory dishes

When buying a pastry blender, look for a sturdy one with flat choppers.  Ones with wires don't work well.

Cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes -- 10 oz / 284 grams / 2.5 sticks
Unbleached all-purpose flour -- 12.5 oz / 354 grams / 2.5 cups
Salt -- 5.7 grams / 2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or 1 tsp table salt
Granulated Sugar -- 0.9 oz / 25 grams / 2 Tbsp
Ice cold water -- 2.1 oz / 60 grams / 1/4 cup
Chilled Vodka -- 1.9 oz / 54 grams / 1/4 cup (Put it in the freezer to chill for about an hour -- it won’t freeze. Just make sure to keep it covered, so the alcohol doesn't evaporate.)
  1. Chill the butter in the fridge at least for 15 minutes after slicing.
  2. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and sugar.  Add butter and chop with a pastry blender until the size of peas. 
  3. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. Mix with a large spoon until no more loose liquid remains.
  4. Dump onto a work surface, shape into a 9 x 12 rectangle and smear with the back of your hand by pushing each handful of dough forward about 6 inches.  Rearrange into a rectangle and repeat the smearing procedure.  
  5. Divide the dough into two piles and squeeze each pile into a disk.  Wrap tightly in plastic. 
  6. Refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. The dough can also be frozen for several months (wrapped tightly in plastic and placed in a freezer bag).
This recipe is an adaptation of Kenji Alt's recipe.  You can find more of Kenji's great writing at SeriousEats Food Lab



Monday, November 11, 2013

Vodka Pie Dough with a Food Processor Video

I am starting a pie/tart dough video series to get my dear readers ready for Thanksgiving. If you have a food processor with 7-cup capacity or larger, it’s the best way to make dough. If not, hang tight till next week and I’ll post a video for making the dough by hand.



YouTube Link: Pie Dough with a Food Processor and Vodka
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Pie Dough Recipe
For one 9-inch Double-Crust Pie( or two 11- inch tarts)
Works for both sweet and savory dishes

Cold unsalted butter, sliced 1/4 inch thick -- 10 oz / 284 grams / 2.5 sticks
Unbleached all-purpose flour for the food processor -- 7.5 oz / 213 grams / 1.5 cups
Unbleached all-purpose flour in a large bowl -- 5 oz / 142 grams / 1 cup
Salt -- 5.7 grams / 2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or 1 tsp table salt
Granulated Sugar -- 0.9 oz / 25 grams / 2 Tbsp
Ice cold water -- 2.1 oz / 60 grams / 1/4 cup
Chilled Vodka -- 1.9 oz / 54 grams / 1/4 cup (Put it in the freezer to chill for about an hour -- it won’t freeze. Just make sure to keep it covered, so the alcohol doesn't evaporate.)
  1. Chill the butter in the fridge at least for 15 minutes after slicing.
  2. Process 7.5 oz flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 one-second pulses (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). 
  3. In a large bowl, measure 5 oz flour (1 cup). Add the butter flour mixture from the food processor to this bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until no more flour streaks remain.
  4. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. Mix with a large spoon until no more loose liquid remains. Remove half the dough out of the bowl. Squeeze the dough remaining in the bowl together to form a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic. Move the second half of dough back into the bowl, squeeze into a disk and wrap. 
  5. Refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. The dough can also be frozen for several months (wrapped tightly in plastic and placed in a freezer bag).
This recipe is an adaptation of Kenji Alt's recipe.  You can find more of Kenji's great writing at SeriousEats Food Lab



Thursday, November 7, 2013

How to Measure Ingredients for Baking (Video)


YouTube Link: How to Measure Ingredients for Baking
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

FAQ

How much does a cup of all-purpose flour weigh?
There is no agreement in the US on the amount of all-purpose flour that should be in 1 cup. Some bakers say that their cup is 4.5 oz.  That's the bakers that spoon flour into a cup and then level.  Some say that their cup is 5 oz.  That's the bakers who scoop and then level.  It seems that that are more 5 oz people than 4.5 oz people, so when in doubt, I assume 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 5 oz or 142 grams.

Does 1 cup of any ingredient equal 5 oz?
No.  Just like a cup of rocks and a cup of features will have different weights, so will different ingredients. Even 1 cup of different flour types will have different weights. Cake flour, for example, weighs about 4 oz per cup.

What's the difference between "1 cup of sifted flour" and "1 cup of flour, sifted"?
It's confusing, isn't it.  The only reliable way to avoid compression problems when measuring flour with cups is to sift it into the cup and then level.  Since the exact amount of flour is so important in fine cake recipes, and since the flour would need to be sifted anyway, recipes often called for "1 cup of sifted cake flour" (which should equal 3.5 oz).  If you have a scale, you can weigh 3.5 oz and then sift the flour.  If your recipe calls for "1 cup of cake flour, sifted" they expect you take 4 oz of flour, and then sift it.  Generally, if you sift flour into the cup and then level it, you'll get less flour than if you scoop (or spoon), level, and then sift.  If this explanation  makes your head hurt, you are not alone.  Luckily, "4 oz of flour, sifted" is not ambiguous.

What are the weights of frequently used baking ingredients?

Adopted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Bread Bible"

Flours
All-purpose Flour
1 cup (stir, scoop, level) = 5 oz = 142 grams
Cake Flour
1 cup (sifted into cup) = 3.5 oz = 100 grams
Cake Flour
1 cup (stir, spoon into cup, level) = 4 oz = 114 grams
Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup (stir, scoop, level) = 5.3 oz = 150 grams

Sugars
Granulated Sugar 
1 cup = 7 oz = 200 grams
Brown Sugar
1 cup = 7.7 oz = 217 grams

Fats
Butter 
1 cup = 8 oz = 227 grams
Oils
1 cup = 7.6 oz = 215 grams

Liquids
Water
1 cup = 8.3 oz = 236 grams
Heavy Cream 
1 cup = 8.2 oz = 232 grams
Milk, buttermilk, sour cream, and half-and-half
1 cup = 8.5 oz = 242 grams

Eggs
1 large in shell = 2 oz = 57 grams
1 large without shell = 1.7 oz = 50 grams
1 large egg white = 1 oz = 30 grams
1 large egg yolk = 0.6 oz = 19 grams

Small Quantities
Instant Yeast 
1 tsp = 3.2 grams
Table Salt 
1 tsp = 5.7 grams
Diamond Crystal Kosher salt 
1 tsp = 2.8 grams
Baking Powder
1 tsp = 4.9 grams
Baking soda
1 tsp = 5 grams

If you want to find weights for other ingredients, you can use a wonderful kitchen tool, called Google.