Another day, another post

I have today off from work and have done some house cleaning and such. Now I'm just relaxing because I don't feel like doing anything else.
So I figured while I sit around doing nothing I could at least be busy doing something... So Blogging it is...

In my last post I said I would take more pictures of my Totoro cream puffs.. Well that didn't happen. My DARLING husband just happened to eat the perfect ones that I was saving for my pictures so I just ate them and gave some to my friend at work instead... Sorry about that, but you know who to blame... I'll at least post the recipe!

Pate Choux!

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

Choux Pastry
1/2 cup (125g) whole milk
1/2 cup (125g) water
1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Prepare a pastry bag with a medium sized plain tip.
In a medium sauce pan, bring the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar to a boil.
Add the flour all at once and lower to medium heat and stir vigorously until it's smooth and seems a little dry. About 2-3 minutes.(It kind of reminds me of over cooking cream of wheat or something........)

Transfer into a mixing bowl onto your mixer with a paddle attachment. Add one egg at a time making sure to blend completely before adding the next. The dough should be thick, shiny and silky looking, like a ribbon.

Put into your pastry bag and pipe Totoros. Basically start at the bottom and pipe a little larger than a quarter size round then slowly bring it up to make the head about a nickle size. Squeeze a little out for ears. Continue until all the dough is used up. You can also make regular eclairs or cream puffs by piping about a 4" line or a dollar coin size round. Leave about 2 inches between each.
If you have little pointy parts sticking up and out wet your finger a bit and just push or smooth it out, otherwise they will burn.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until brown and crisp.
Let cool completely.

Chocolate Pastry Cream.(YUMMMMM! I love pastry cream! *swoon*)

2 cups (500g) whole milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75g) sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 1/2 tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

In a medium sauce pan bring milk to a boil. In the mean time combine yolks, sugar and starch and whisk right away in a bowl.

Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge. The pastry cream can be made 2 - 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

Now that you have all the stuff prepared you can start decorating and filling the cream puffs!

I found it easier to slice the cream puffs right in half horizontally, then decorate the tops and then fill them.
So for Totoro you need some white chocolate and dark chocolate to make little faces.
Here's Totoro!

And again, here's what mine look like(not so great)

But you get the idea. You can dip some in chocolate first and then add the eyes if you want some extra chocolatey yumminess.
You can let the chocolate harden in the fridge for a few minutes and then fill a pastry bag with pastry cream and squeeze it on the bottom halves of the cream puffs and place the tops on.

DONE!
Enjoy!

I really have been busy! I swear!

So I really have been busy! And tired... Especially now that I'm pregnant! So far I'm 24 weeks into it! We're having a little boy and most likely naming him Irbie! So excited to meet this little fellow! I have been slowly gathering baby stuff from people and soon will be ready to set up the nursery! It will be a fun little project. I'm signed up for baby registry and should be having a baby shower soon!

Also, I have been making lots of random foods and taking pictures, just not adding them to my blog.... Which is bad on my part, since I started my blog to share food I've created with all of you!

I am going to up load some stuff today that I've made(and other photos...) in the past few months since I haven't been sharing..... Okay! GO!

First here are some salmon berries that I found on my way to work. Just thought they are pretty so I took a picture....then ate them ^_^

Here is my first strawberry from my garden this year! It was sooo yummy! More have followed but haven't stuck around long enough to model.


I tried my hand at making bento and was sooo excited to have a kawaii(Japanese for "cute") lunch! And some for James too! The first two were his, and the other two were mine...




As you can see I'm still a newbie at making bentos. But today I just bought some new bento boxes and also cute little bottles for sauces and things like that. So new bentos will be on the way! Also I've been reading Anna the Red's Bento blog and have really been enjoying it and getting details!
AnnaTheRed
I also got my Totoro cream puff idea from her!!! I'll be posting pictures and recipe later! Here's one picture, but I made two trays and the other one turned out better, I just haven't taken a picture yet... So here's this for now!



So that's it for now. I will be posting more later!
Enjoy!

Thanks-for-getting-me-a-piano Apple Pie!

My darling husband got me a piano yesterday! I've been playing since I was 7 years old, and haven't had a piano since I was 18. It's something I've always loved to play and enjoyed, even though I'm extremely piano shy and have a hard time playing if people are around.
Regardless, I have one now and love it! It's old and worn, but it still plays well, and I want to paint flowers on it.
So how does one thank a loving man? With a pie of course! Here's the recipe for this yummy thank you pie! The crust is from Martha Stewart, but it turns out really nice and flaky like a good crust should! Mmmmm. <3




Crust: Makes 1 double-crust or two 9" crusts.
Pate Brisee
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:
Pulse flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, no longer than 30 seconds.

Divide into two equal pieces. Roll one out and fit into a pie dish, freeze for 30 minutes until firm.
Shape the second piece into a disk and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling:
3lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced into 1/4"
1/2 C. Granulated sugar
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 Tblsp Flour
2 Tblsp. Lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 C. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 Tblsp. Bread crumbs or graham cracker crumbs

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1-2 Tbsp Heavy cream or milk
Whisk together

Preheat oven to 375*F

Place all the ingredients except for butter and crumbs into a large bowl and toss until evenly coated.
Sprinkle the crumbs evenly into prepared pie shell.
Pour the filling into the shell, spreading it around evenly. Dot with butter.
Roll out the top crust and place on top of the pie. Cut off some of the extra edges. Save the trimmings. Fold the edges under and press into the bottom crust and make some fluted edges or crimp with a fork or however you wish.
With a paring knife make some vents(You can cut out a little design before you put the top crust on if you wish).
Roll out the remaining crust and use cute cookie cutters to add a little flare to your pie.

Egg wash the pie and place cutouts wherever desired. Egg was cut outs and sprinkle with sugar.
Place foil around the edges of your pie crust so it doesn't burn. It doesn't need to be on tight, just place it on top.
Bake for 40 minutes with the foil on.
Bake for another 20-30 minutes with the foil off.
The crust should be a nice golden brown and the pie should be smelling amazing!!!

Let cool, and top with vanilla ice cream!
Eat and enjoy!

Ode to the Onion.

I wrote this because I don't think that onions get enough credit.....



Oh Onion, without you, my culinary talents would be nothing.
You have powers that are magnificent.
Without you, my dishes lack everything.

When cooked so slowly,
you become,
oh so sweet and caramely.

But when I get a hold of you, and start to slice or chop away,
You always bring tears to my eyes,
like no other you bring the burning, stinging and pain.

But oh, dear Onion, How I love you.
When I get your tender flesh inside the pan,
you work your magic wonder and I know I'll use you again.

So Onion, you're so sweet, yet so mean.
I want to thank you for doing your amazing thing.