No time for banter

Oh my gosh!! I haven't done my daring bakers challenge as yet! I completely mixed the date up with the daring cook challenge! Aargh!! I'll try to do it tonight but OHHH I'm so annoyed at myself now! Should've spent my time more productively than tumblring which is my newest internet discovery.

So due to the long recipe, allow me to cut my gib even shorter this time by omitting the recipe for the pâte feuilletée. That by the way is one of my proudest baking moment this year. It unfolded rather perfectly and each layer was nice and flaky. I made some chaussons aux pommes and some cheese sticks, and here is a photo and the recipe for the cap...



Chaussons aux pommes
(from larousse des desserts)

500 gr puff pastry

5 apples (reinettes)
1 lemon
150 gr sugar
20 gr crème fraîche
30 gr butter
1 egg

Juice the lemon, peel the apples and cut into little cubes and mix straight away into the lemon juice so that it doesn't brown. Strain and mix well with sugar and the crème fraiche. Cut the butter into little pieces.

Preheat the oven to 250°C.

Prepare the puff pastry, roll out to 3mm thickness and cut into 10-12 circles of 12cm diameter. Whisk the egg lightly. Place enough apples and a bit of butter on one side of the disks and brush the sides with egg. Fold to close and brush top with egg. Leave to dry a little and score with knife tip careful as to not pierce the pastry.

Bake for 10 minutes at 250°C then lower to 200°C for 25-25 minutes. Serve warm.



Pas mal, hein?

Masterchef

I am not averse to reality TV, and lately my favourite is the Australian version of Masterchef. Last week, to avoid elimination... 3 of the finalist who performed the worst in the rabbit challenge, had the last opportunity to redeem themselves by preparing a tarte tatin. So obviously last week I was itching to bake one myself, but I haven't been feeling 100% fit so let's just say that I've been lazy.

In the end, the girl with a slight penchant for molecular gastronomy got eliminated, sparing Aaron another molecular gastronomy fan the cut. The last of the 3, is perhaps one of my favourite in the show... not that I think she will win it, but Julie is an IT consultant, working mum of 3 who cooks out of love. She said that cooking is for her a way to show and share her love with other people, and how she would like the opportunity to share it with even more people outside her friends and family, that's endearing I think... and definitely resonates with my fondness for food preparation. Because beside the thrill that I get when I test out a new recipe, more often than anything I am a domestic kitchen slave out of love. And nowadays more and more I prefer to eat food that I know had been prepared with some care too. I'm sure the people at Smiths chips are very caring people...

note :
1. I finally rolled up my sleeves yesterday and made some chaussons aux pommes out of the pâte feuilletée I made the other day. To my delight, they were rather wonderful. Blog to follow.
2. My mum is here for a visit! my dad to come a bit later! plus I'm moving hopefully before my birthday. Excuse my untimely blogs between now till end of june.

Lady of leisure

I didn't bake anything new all week, nor cook anything to blog about. May so far has been dud. Plus I'm sort of planning to do a mini detox what with my birthday coming up, am trying to preserve the last ounce of youthful appearance left in me *sigh*. Refined sugar apparently is a no no, so perhaps in the weeks to come either I'll go awol or I'll strive to bake delicious wholesome stuff like those I found in this bakery I went to on Saturday.



I had an apple and berry turnover which was nice, and they offered to heat it up for me, with a cup of coffee. Very decent. I wish this bakery is in my neighbourhood.



Organic Republic Bakery
98 Glenayr Avenue
Bondi, 2026
ph. (02) 9300 0985

Note :
1. I have a work in progress sitting in the fridge so haven't been exactly twiddling my thumbs. I am attempting to make puff pastry, wish me luck.
2. Figaro now has a secret private diary.

Woot!

Everytime I see this word I wonder what it means. I'm not hip (read: young) enough to have used it in my correspondence / conversation the past. Not that I am going looking forward to be actively woot wooting people but out of curiousity I consulted the urban dictionary for some enlightenment.

1. Woot originated as a hacker term for root (or administrative) access to a computer. However, with the term as coincides with the gamer term, "w00t". "w00t" was originally an trunicated expression common among players of Dungeons and Dragons tabletop role-playing game for "Wow, loot!" Thus the term passed into the net-culture where it thrived in video game communities and lost its original meaning and is used simply as a term of excitement.
Example : "I defeated the dark sorcerer! Woot!"

2. a) An interjection similar to "YAY!" or "Woohoo!" used to express joy or excitement, usually about some kind of accomplishment. Primarily used by gamers, spreading rapidly to anyone who chats online. Gaming origins: We Owned the Other Team or Wonderful Loot (Everquest gaming slang)
Example : woot! I got an A on this test.
b) To express agreement.
Robyn: Eric is such a tool. Let's put packing peanuts in his desk.
Stefanie: woot!
c) As an acronym, can mean Waste of Our Time or Way Out of Topic (online forums) Less common.


A gave me 3 tablettes of chocolate. Woot!


Note :
1. The weather is fair this weekend so I haven't the urge to stay in to bake. I was planning to make some raviolis but I have a feeling that it will be postponed.
2. I took a peek at May's Daring Bakers challenge. It's very exciting!! I'm pumped! Woot!
3. (I didn't overkill the usage, did I?)