Got Curd? - Lemon Curd

I just realized, when making cupcakes for Easter, that I have never posted my Lemon Curd recipe.  This kind of surprised me a little, cause I make it all the time.  But sure enough, I've covered Meyer Lemon Curd, Caramel Blood Orange Curd, and Key Lime Curd.  But alas, not a peep regarding regular good old simple Lemon Curd.  Lemme tell ya, there ain't nothin' better on a scone.  Well, except maybe Blood Orange Marmalade.  But that is another post.

So, in the interest of covering all the bases; here is my Lemon Curd recipe (cause the proportions are a little different than the Meyer Lemon one)

Lemon Curd

4 oz unsalted Butter, melted
1 cup Granulated Sugar
2 large Eggs Whites
2 tsp Lemon Zest
3/4 cup Lemon Juice
pinch of Salt
6 large Egg Yolks


Melt the butter in a bowl over simmering water and set aside to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl place Sugar, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Egg Whites and Salt.

Place the 6 Egg Yolks into the bowl of cooled melted butter.

Whisk the ingredients in both bowls until homogeneous.

 Add the Yolk/Butter mixture to the Sugar/Lemon and whisk until well combined.

Place the bowl over simmering water.

Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 172F (78C) degrees, or until it thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Strain through fine mesh into a clean bowl, to stop cooking and remove the spent zest or any egg specks.

Cover on the surface with plastic, to prevent any crusting, and leave to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Once completely chilled, serve with scones, crumpets or fill your cupcakes with it ;)

Mangia!!
~~

Who Comes Up With This Stuff? - Ruby Red Grapefruit Curd

So February is Grapefruit month.  Did you know that?  I didn't know that.  I am really beginning to wonder WHO comes up with the food holidays and celebrations.  I mean, seriously.  Do we need a day set aside to celebrate the Cream Cheese Brownie?  (February 10th)  Especially when there is already a Brownie Day on December 8th.  Did a Cream Cheese Brownie special interest group lobby for their own holiday?  What gives?

February is not only the month to celebrate the deliciousness that is Grapefruit, it's National Potato Lover's month, National Cherry month, National Snack Food month (Oye!) and who could possibly forget that most important meal of the day..... National Hot Breakfast Month.  Me?  I'm stickin' with grapefruit for now.

I LOVE grapefruit.  I think it has gotten a bum rap over the years though.  Most people tend to think of it as something closely akin to "old person diet food".  This just is not true.  Granted the grapefruit available during my youth was your standard "white" grapefruit with it's somewhat bitter back bite.  A flavor that seems somewhat out of place considering that the grapefruit is a natural hybrid of the fairly sweet pomelo and a sweet orange.  But if you find white grapefruit to be way to sour and bitter, try salting it.  As strange as it sounds, salt actually sweetens the fruit.

As I got older the "pink" grapefruit hit the stage with it's much sweeter and less bitter interior.  By the time I was a young adult, the Rio Star ruby red grapefruit had made it's way from Texas to the Pacific NW.  This particular variety is the sweetest of the three and has almost no bitterness whatsoever.

Normally I make curd with a plain white grapefruit, but I re-tooled my recipe and toned down the sugar so I could try a red grapefruit, just to see how it came out.  On the whole, I was fairly impressed.  I will always have a soft spot for White Grapefruit curd, but Ruby Red Curd is delicious as well. (though no quite as "ruby red" as I had hoped)

This is the quick way to make curd.  Normally I would cook it in a double boiler (bain marie) until it coats the back of a spoon, then run my curd through a strainer to remove the zest afterwards.  This time I decided to put on my "devil may care" hat and pick up the pace a little by cooking directly over low flame and whisking constantly.  Since I am going to strain it anyway, why not? 

So in honor of Grapefruit Month, I present to you......

Ruby Red Grapefruit Curd

2/3 cup Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice (About 1 -1 1/2 Grapefruits)
Zest of 1 Ruby Red Grapefruit
1/4 cup (50g) Granulated Sugar (I am a bit of a sour puss so you may want to up it to 1/3 or 1/2 cup)
2 large Egg Yolks
2 large Eggs
Pinch of Kosher Salt
2 TB Unsalted Butter

Zest the grapefruit before juicing.

Squeeze all the juice from the grapefruit.

Filter the juice to ensure you have no pulp or seeds.

Combine the juice with the zest in a small saucepan.

Add Sugar and stir until dissolved.

Add the Yolks, the Egg and a pinch of Salt, whisking well to combine.

Place over low heat and whisk constantly until it begins to thicken. (don't let it boil, or it has gotten too hot)

Remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking until melted and smooth.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer, to remove the zest and any possible egg white lumps.

Cover with plastic wrap on the surface to prevent crusting and refrigerate until ready to consume. (I am kind of bummed that it turned out "yellow", I was kind of expecting a sort of "salmon pink" color, then again, the juice really wasn't all THAT red to start with and my yolks were pretty dark)

Now I just have to figure out what to do with my Grapefruit curd. (Besides simply eating it with a spoon)

Mangia!!
~~

Bacon and Eggs Makeover - Traditional Quiche Lorraine

I don't subscribe to the philosophy of "Real men don't eat quiche".  I call Bologna!  Whoever cooked up that saying, was simply trying to secure more quiche for themselves.  Why wouldn't men eat quiche?  In it's most basic form, quiche is nothing more than an egg pie.  Men like eggs, and most men definitely like pie. (I think it's a "Y" Chromosome thing)  In the case of Quiche Lorraine, you have the added benefit of Bacon.  I think it's safe to say that most, if not all, men like bacon.    mmmmmmm  B-A-C-O-N...  mmmmmmmm  P-I-E...   mmmmmmm B-A-C-O-N  P-I-E...  mmmmmm Q-U-I-C-H-E    L-O-R-R-A-I-N-E... 

I have to be honest though, I am sure that my defense of quiche consumption by the male of the species has to do with my parents.  Mom use to bake this Bacon, Potato and Clam quiche when we were kids.  Now you must understand that I come from a long line of fish eaters.  Oh yes.  Pretty much anything that contains some form of water breather is fair game in this family.  We absolutely loved that quiche when we were growing up.  Of course we didn't know it was anything French or fancy or "chi chi pu pu" like "quiche" supposedly is.  We called it Clam Chowder Pie.  Which stands to reason since it IS all about Pie after all; am I right?

Say it with me now, "Quiche is Pie.  Quiche is Pie." Granted, it's a savory custard pie, but it's still pie.  And pie is pie.  My grandfather use to say that there were only 2 types of pie that were fit to eat...  Hot pie and cold pie.  I cherish that small slice of wisdom.

I have heard from some that the reason they do not like quiche is because they don't like custard.  This always amuses me because these are usually the same people who can consume half a cheese cake, pumpkin pie, coconut cream or key lime pie in one sitting; all of which are custard pies.  What exactly constitutes a custard?  Custard is defined as Eggs and Moo Juice (milk or cream) cooked together until thickened.  Whether baked, simmered in a bain marie, or cooked in a pressure cooker, any combination of eggs and milk that begins to thicken, is a custard.  Creme Anglaise, cooked puddings and some mousse bases are also custards. Even cheese "cake" is a custard. True, it's denser than most, but at it's core, it's a custard pie made with cream cheese instead of cream.

My favorite quiche, by far, is Quiche Lorraine.  You just cannot go wrong with Bacon and Egg Pie.

But something strange has happened to Lorraine in the United States.  It's always full of stuff that doesn't belong.  Something must have gotten lost in translation somewhere.  It's probably due to the lack of one of the essential ingredients that CHEESE entered into this quintessential quiche of the Lorre valley.  Not that I have anything against cheese mind you, but it doesn't belong in Quiche Lorraine.  While I am on the subject of mysterious adjuncts, onions do not belong in Quiche Lorraine either.  It does, however, belong in Quiche Alsacienne (Bacon, Onion and Egg Pie).  I think Alsace should be given it's due for adding onions.

But back to the mysterious practice of adding cheese to Quiche Lorraine.

As I stated before, I think I figured out the why of it.  It adds a richness to the quiche that regular heavy cream just doesn't have.  The only problem is that the cheese contains a significant amount of protein and can make the quiche tough.  I HATE tough quiche.  Though I will admit that I enjoy Quiche Vosgienne on occasion (with Gruyere added) the basic issue can be corrected but using the correct cream, and heavy cream isn't the right one.

Don't worry, I am not talking about some fancy cream from a specific breed of cow in France that consumes spring grass and lavender blossoms.  I am simply talking about Crème Fraîche.  Yep, make your quiche with Crème Fraîche instead of heavy cream and it will be perfect in texture and flavor every time.  No cheeses need apply, unless absolutely necessary. (as in the case of Quiche Vosgienne)  Sadly, you cannot substitute Sour Cream or Yogurt; they will curdle and give you a lumpy and less than satisfactory texture.  ew! 

I am just sayin', this is how they make Quiche Lorraine in Lorraine. 

One of the nontraditional things I do is using a small amount of Spelt flour in the crust.  I tend to think of quiche as being a more rustic dish, thus a little less "refined" flour kinda fits the bill in my book.  It helps that Spelt flour has a delicious nutty flavor without the "sweetness" that whole wheat usually imparts. (it compliments the Crème Fraîche quite well)  I love this crust recipe and have started using it for a lot of savory pie applications.  It's a modification of the pastry crust I originally used on my Asparagus and Gruyere tart recipe (Sour Cream/Peppercorn pastry crust), but it works so well with other flavors (with the spelt added) that I keep coming back to it again and again. 

Quiche Lorraine

1 cup (4.4oz) (125g) AP Flour
1/2 cup (2.2oz) (62g)Spelt Flour (not traditional, but you can use more AP flour if you like)
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
optional - Several grinds of Black Pepper
8 TB unsalted Butter
1 TB Sour Cream or Crème Fraîche or an Egg Yolk (your choice, as long as it's a fat)
1 TB Ice Water
6-8 oz (170-225g) Bacon, cooked (about 12 regular slices or 6-7 thick cut)
6 large Eggs
1 1/2 cups (350ml) Crème Fraîche
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Dash of Nutmeg

Always remember, the key to perfect pastry crust is cold ingredients and speed. (the refrigerator is your friend)
In a medium bowl, combine AP Flour, Spelt Flour, Salt and Black Pepper (if using) with a whisk.

Add sliced butter and work it into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter.

In a small bowl, combine Ice Water and Sour Cream with a fork.

Add this to the Flour/Butter mixture and stir with a fork until a dough forms.

You may chill it at this point if you like, or roll out to a 13 -14 inch circle.

Roll the pastry over your rolling pin to move to your 10-inch Quiche dish or tart pan with a removable bottom. Please take care if you used the Spelt flour.  Spelt makes it a little more tender and it will rip fairly easily if you try to fold it into quarters to move it.

Unroll into your dish and gently coerce it down into the dish.

Because of the rustic nature of quiche, I simply tear the extra pastry from the edge and leave it, but your can trim with a knife and crimp it if you like.

Dock it (poke holes in it) with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.

Line with foil and fill with beans, rice or pie weights.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Let the pastry shell cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325F degrees.

Cook the Bacon. (By whichever method you prefer)

Chop the Bacon.

Sprinkle the Bacon all over the bottom of the cooling pastry.

Now, in a bowl, beat the eggs lightly, just until the white and yolk are combined.

Add the Crème Fraîche and stir well to combine (be careful not the beat it too much, you want to keep the bubbles to a minimum)

Season with a dash of Nutmeg, Salt and a sprinkle of White Pepper.

Pour into the awaiting pastry shell very slowly as to not dislodge the bacon from the bottom. (this is why I tend to use thick cut bacon, it doesn't float like the thinner slices do)

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the center is just barely set.

Let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes to allow it to finish cooking.

Cut a slice and enjoy the best Bacon and Egg Pie that you ever had.

Mangia!!
~~

Leapin' Lepeshki - lep-YOSH-key

Since I have been on a scone kick lately, I thought it might be nice to travel to mainland Europe and touch on something rather scone-like.  After all, the English haven't completely cornered the market on tea time treats.

Meet the Lepeshki (lep-YOSH-key) of Eastern Europe.  A delicious Rye Flour based scone/cookie containing Sour Cream instead of the Cream and Butter of the English Scone.  The Sour cream is not merely an affectation of the region.  Just as with Rye Bread, the Sour Cream provides the necessary acid in the dough to prevent the Amylase from breaking down the starches in the Rye, thus allowing for a better rise.  There is a little bonus acidity provided by the honey that is used in the sweetening of these delectable pastries as well.

So in a nutshell, this is a rich whole grain (though there is some AP flour too) "scone" that has been lightly sweetened with Honey and delicately flavored with Almonds.  Yeah, delicious with Tea... or Coffee... or Milk... or Water....  hmmmm  or with a second Lepeshki.  LOL

Lepeshki

2 cups (8 oz) (235g) Dark Rye Flour
1 1/2 cups (6.7 oz) (190g) AP Flour; plus a little more for rolling
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 TB Baking Powder
1/4 cup (.8 oz) (25g) Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda 
1/2 (4 oz) (112g) cup Honey
3/4 cup (3 oz) (90g) Sour Cream
1 1/2 TB Whole Milk
3/4 tsp Almond Extract 
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 large Eggs; 1 TB of the white removed
1 oz sliced Almond

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)(GM 6).
Whisk Rye Flour, AP Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Sugar and Baking Soda together in a medium bowl, making a well in the center.

In a separate small bowl combine Honey, Sour Cream, Milk and Extracts.

Crack eggs into a tiny bowl, separating 1 TB of white from 1 of the eggs into a separate bowl.

Beat eggs briefly with a fork and add to the Sour Cream mixture.

Pour this Egg/Sour Cream mixture into the well you have made in the flour.

Mix together with a fork or your finger, in a circular motion slowly incorporating more of the liquid as you mix until you have formed a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.

Using a round cutter, make 2 1/2 inch to 3 inch rounds and place on a parchment lined sheet pan.

With a dry pastry brush, remove any excess flour from the tops of the lepeshki.

Whisk the reserved egg white slightly to break it up a little.

Brush with reserved egg white onto the top of each round,

then lay sliced almond across the top.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes; they will still be very light in color, but you do not want to over toast the almonds on top.

Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Try and wait until they are cooled before serving...  I usually can't wait that long.  :)

Mangia!!
~~