The Cook's Atelier: Recipes, Techniques, And Stories From Our French Cooking School by Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini {book review}

When I moved to the UK from the US I was and still am constantly told I was brave for making that move. At the time I was young and the opportunity was there so I took it not really thinking about it as anything but that, an opportunity.  However, when reading or hearing of other people's stories I think "gee they are brave" forgetting I have done it myself.

Looking back at my own story and reading the story of Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini I can't help, but concur it is actually a big thing. A huge life changing decision that does take bravery and a lot of faith that things will work out.

Both mother and daughter have always loved France and French food so, it's no surprise they have ended up in France. Both have professional backgrounds in food and wine so they combined that passion with their love for French food to create something truly inspirational. A cooking school in a town called Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy's wine country.

The Cook's Atelier is so much more then just a cookbook, it's a record of their joinery so far. It not only shares more then 100 recipes, it shares classic French techniques as well as introducing the people in their community, the people who support them and whom they support and are essential to their cookery school.

If you have ever wanted a proper look into French cuisine and life look no further!

At this point I list all the recipes I'd like to try. I do this one to share with my readers what sort of recipes to expect to find inside, but also as a record for me to go back too. However, there are so many delicious looking recipes and my list was so long I narrowed it down to my top 10!

Savory Tart with Spinach & Mushrooms
Shortcakes with homemade Strawberry Confiture
Green Garlic Souffle
Chocolate Layer Cake
Butter Cake with Peaches & Raspberries
Vegetable Tian with Fried Basil
Summer Berry Tart
Nicoise Pan Bagnet
Orange Cake with Candied Citrus
Braised Endive Gratin

Please note that I am a baker at heart and although I list more sweet then savory please know there are a lot more savory recipes to admire and try out!

If I ever have an opportunity to visit and explore France, I think I will be checking if they have a space in one of their workshops!

Want to know more - grab your own copy of The Cook's Atelier and/or visit The Cook's Atelier website!!

* I was provided a digital copy of The Cook's Atelier by Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini to review by the publisher, Abrams, retails at £35.00 and available now from your local book retailers or online! All opinions are my own, I was not given any other compensation nor was I asked to give a positive review, please see my contact/policy page above for more information.

The Pastry Challenge November Round-Up {Pies and Tarts}

When I was at work the other day we were discussing holidays and this conversation came to be:

Co-worker: Are you already for Christmas? 

Me: Getting there, have a few things to pick up. We don't really go to crazy with presents and stuff. 

CW: That's because you get most of your presents for Thanksgiving. 

Note it was stated as fact not a question.

Me: Ah? What? 

Another co-worker stocking shelves staring at the first co-worker like she's grown horns right in front of him. 

CW: Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? 

Me: No. No, Thanksgiving is all about food and feeling thankful for what you have. 

The other co-worker looks at me and shakes his head. 

CW: Oh, I thought Thanksgiving was like Christmas? 

Perception is everything. Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here, so most people can only assume and guess what it's like or what it is! It's all determined by media - either movies or TV or the internet. Although I'm not sure where she got the idea we exchange presents on Thanksgiving? It did give me a good laugh, bless her! 

I bring this up because Thanksgiving is why I made this month's theme pies and tarts, tis the season and all that. I was not disappointed as yet again we had some great entries!! 

creamy chicken, leek, pernod, and pea pie

from

Belleau Kitchen 

If you haven't visited this blog I suggest you do! Dominic has entered our linky most months and always with something great! His blog has much more then pastry and is a wonderful mix of sweet and savoury dishes. If he ever wrote a cookbook I would be the first to pre-order it! 

Lemon Tart 

from

Chardonnay and Samphire

This tart is gluten free and dairy free! Which doesn't matter much to me as I can eat both, but that wouldn't stop me from making it! It's my first experience with this blog and it looks so clean and refreshing I'm sure I'll visit it again pastry or no! 

Beetroot and caramelised onion galette with vegan mozzarella

from 

Green Gourmet Giraffe

Green is my favorite color and giraffe's are cool so it's no surprise that Johanna's blog is pretty cool too! She's entered the pastry challenge a few times always giving us something new and tasty! Check out her post as there is another version of this galette. 

Mini Mouthful Jam Tarts with Pate Sucree - gluten free

from 

Gluten Free Alchemist

There is something about the simplicity of a jam tart that makes it so elegant. The light pastry filled with the ruby colored jam is very appealing! It'd be hard to stop at just one! And these are gluten free! 

Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies

from

The more than occasional baker

Salted Caramel is amazing and paired with apples these hand pies must have been amazing! I'd love to be able to crimp like Ros! I once tried to make hand pies and they leaked everywhere! I will definitely be referring to this post next time I attempt hand pies! 

Mini Apple Crumble Pies 

from 

Cakey Goodness

I love apples and crumbles! Then they are mini pies! Gotta love it! These would go great with some of the ice cream I had with my pumpkin pie below! I wasn't hungry until just now! 

pumpkin pie al a mode

from 

United Cakedom

Me! Follow the link to see how I got on this Thanksgiving! Once again I made pumpkin pie and it was so good! Especially topped with cinnamon biscuit ice cream! Also check out my new pie dish! It's green and cream and I love it!! 

Thank you to everyone who entered!! I love seeing what everyone enters! I hope you all have a great holiday season and are enjoying your festivities! Hopefully with lots of delicious food! 

note: all images were taken from the linked blog post and owned by those sites

Two Ways with a Gypsy Tart

I just realised that my title could be taken the wrong way … if you are inclined to think that way. Something that I’ve learned is that it’s actually how a lot of people think. Being one of the small percentage of people who don’t always get innuendo I say a lot of things that get laughed at. I would relay some of the these instances, but we don’t have all day. Just take my word for it.

It’s not the first time I shared a Gypsy Tart on United Cakedom, but I thought I would try something different this time. Then it didn’t turn out so well and I hadn’t accounted for a couple of things. With a little improvising and adjusting I sorted it out and ended up with two different way to make a gypsy tart!

The filling is the same, it’s the base that changes. First I made mini tarts with a sweet shortcrust pastry. Then when I was stuck with a lot of extra filling because I didn’t think to half the recipe or something I made a quick cookie/biscuit base to bake the rest of the filling over with successful results!

Just like the title of this post could be taken two ways this gypsy tart can be made two ways...here's how:

Gypsy Tart

filling  

(makes enough for 24 mini tarts or 12 mini tarts and 7inch Gypsy Tart)

451ml (1 can) of evaporated milk
300g muscovado sugar

Whip them together for 15 minutes until light, fluffy, and tripled in size.

Mini Gypsy Tarts:

sweet shortcrust pastry

300g plain flour
4 tablespoons of golden caster sugar
200g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk the flour and sugar together before rubbing the cubed butter into the flour/sugar until it resembles bread crumbs. Add all the other ingredients and bring together with a spatula or your hands until it makes a smooth dough. Make into a ball and squish a little to make a fat disk like shape, wrap in cling film and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and cut out 12 circles to line each muffin hole. Gently press down into the corners, use a fork to put holes in the base of each pastry case before leaving in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes. The follow the instructions below for blind baking.

blind-bake

Pre-heat the oven 200C - Line each pastry case with a square of baking paper and fill with ceramic beans. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove ceramic beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until pastry turns a light brown.

to finish 

Fill each pastry case with the gypsy filling and bake for 5-10 minutes. Do not bake for 15 minutes as I did and had them collapse on me. Which I then whipped up some whipped cream and drizzled raspberry sauce on top!

Cookie Base Gypsy Tart 

cookies base 

213g chocolate chip hobnobs
50g melted butter

Blitz the cookies in a food processor, then add the butter and pulse a couple of times. Line a 7inch circle cake tin with the cookie mixture.

to finish

Pour the remaining gypsy filling into the tin and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the fridge for 2 hours before slicing and enjoying!

notes: Gypsy Tart is a pretty basic recipe, but this one was adapted from Eric Lanlard's Tart it Up! I wrote about it here the first time I made it. This is my #thepastrychallenge entry which I host with Jen at Jen's Food. There is still time to link up here!

Sweet Potato & Sweet Smoked Paprika Bread

This summer has been pretty disappointing. We had some glorious weather early on and that was about it. With the cooler weather lately I have already been thinking of fall/autumn flavors. Dinner has already started changing from chicken salads and sandwiches to creamy delicious macaroni and cheese and cottage pies! If dinner is already changing why not my baking!

With bread being the star of The Great British Bake Off this week, plus I just received a new bread book, and I had a whole bag of strong white flour in my cupboard I thought I’d make a loaf of bread! With fall/autumn like weather I decided to go with a sweet potato and paprika flavored bread.

You know how when decorating a room you either have plain walls with decorative accessories or you have fun wall paper and plan accessories. That’s how bread is. You either have plain bread with flavor packed toppings or flavor packed bread with butter or for dipping in soup. If done tastefully you can decorate a room with wallpaper and colorful accessories and that goes for bread too. If you know how to pair it just right you get yummy fillings/toppings to go with your flavor packed bread.

Well, after that load of ramble here is how I made this loaf of Sweet Potato and Paprika bread. The recipe comes from Simply Good Bread: Delicious home-baked recipes for everyone by Peter Sidwell. Somewhat adapted as my method varied from his direct instructions. The title says it all the recipes all seem pretty simple and easy for everyone. There are even instructions for those who are using a bread maker.

Sweet Potato & Sweet Smoked Paprika bread

200g sweet potatoes, baked/soft
500g strong white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fast action yeast (about 1/2 of a 7g sachet)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
300ml water
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika

Start by baking the potato(s) and mashing them. Set aside.
Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a measuring jug measure the water before adding the yeast, sugar, and paprika - stir to combine.
Make a well in the centre of the flour/salt and pour the liquid mixture in the middle. Add the mashed potatoes before using a spatula gently bring the dry and liquid ingredients together before using your hands to start to work the dough. Once it starts to come away from the bowl tip out on to a well floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough is sticky so keep floured and have a dough scraper near by.
Once kneaded place back in the bowl and leave to rise until doubled in size should take 30-40 minutes in a warm place.
When it’s ready gently tip it out and knock it back or gently knead for about a minute. Then place in a 1kg or 2lb loaf tin, grease if it’s not non-stick. Leave to double in size while you pre-heat the oven to 200C.
Bake in the heated oven for 40 minutes until golden brown on top. Gently tip the loaf out and knock on the bottom, if it sounds hallow then it’s ready. If not cook for 5-10 more minutes.
Slice and enjoy!

notes: I hope break week on The Great British Bake Off encourages you to give bread a go! If you do you should enter it into Jen’s Food and Utterly Scrummly’s Bread Challenge - Bready Steady Go! I did!

To see a few other books I recently added to my bookshelf beside's Mr. Sidwell's check out my last post here!

Bath Buns

It goes without saying that I was inspired to make these bath buns by my recent trip to Bath. I like playing the role of tourist ever once in a while. In some ways I still am a tourist. I am not a British citizen, but a guest who has paid quite a lot of money to stay as a permanent resident. Unless I leave for more then two years, then it’s void. So, one could say I am still a tourist. 

The other form of inspiration comes from Jane Austen's books Persuasion and Northanger Abbey; her heroines, in both titles, spend some time in Bath. It is also rumoured that Miss Austen enjoyed a good Bath Bun from time to time. 

While we were visiting Bath we did try Bath Buns from a tea room of he same name. They were good, but these were better. It’s not because I’m some great bun baker; I am still finding my way with bread and yeast risen bakes. I would say it’s because they were fresh … anything fresh out of the oven is usually better then something that came out of the oven that morning or perhaps even the day before. 

I’m really not trying to be rude about bakery’s because I love a good bakery, they are professionals and I’m just a home experimental baker. I just think home baked goods have a different feel/taste to them! 

The sugar cube in the middle of these sweet buns is what makes them a Bath Bun. There are several variations such as sugar covered caraway seeds, sultanas or raisins, or candied fruit peel. I however kept them simple and just used sugar! Sugar is good for you in moderation! 

Bath Buns

7g dried yeast 

250ml milk, tepid

450g strong white flour 

30g sugar

1 tsp salt

225g butter, softened 

12 demerara sugar cubes 

1 egg, beaten

Stir the yeast into the milk and set aside. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt and work in the butter until it resembles bread crumbs. You can use a stand mixer for this, as I did. Stir in the yeast/milk which should look a little bubbly by now, with a wooden spoon until completely mixed together. This is a wet dough, now leave to rest for 10 minutes.  

Since I used my mixer here is what I did: 

After letting the dough rest, using my dough hook I kneaded the wet dough for about 5-6 minutes, before tipping it out on to a floured work surface and finished kneading by hand for another 4-5 minutes until the dough was smooth and elastic. As it was a wet dough I liked using my mixer first as it kept it from being too sticky, but as I’m learning more about kneading I wanted to feel the dough, hence the stopping early. IF you are doing one or the other in the mixer do not knead for more then 8 minutes and if doing it by hand about start by stretching it out in the bowl before kneading it on a floured work surface for 10 minutes.

Place the smooth and elastic dough in a large bowl and leave for an hour to an hour and a half in a warm place until it’s doubled in size. 
Once it has risen, turn it gently out on to a clean work surface and knock it back by gently punching it. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces as best you can. I start by dividing it in half and then each half into six. Roll the pieces into balls, by cupping the dough in your hand and gently rolling it on the work surface until it become ball shaped. 
With the dough ball seam side up press a sugar cube into the dough and fold the dough around it so it’s completely enclosed. If needed re-roll into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet seam side down. Repeat with all 12, cover with a clean damp towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Heat the oven to 190C. Once doubled in size brush the beaten egg over the buns and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are starting to turn golden and sound hallow when tapped. 

to finish:

Milk Glaze: 1 tbsp milk & 2 tbsp sugar

Sugar Topping: demerara sugar cubes, smashed 

Prepare the milk glaze when the buns are just about to come out of the oven, by gently heating the milk and sugar in a small saucepan until he sugar has dissolved. Once they are out of the oven cover the buns with the milk glaze before topping with crushed sugar cubes. 

notes: the recipe is adapted from Jamie’s Magazine Issue 27 Mar/Apr 12 it can also be found online here. My Bath experience was posted yesterday and can be read here. 

challenges: Bready Steady Go hosted by Jen’s Food along with Utterly Scrummy 

Pie, Pecan Pie

Originally this pie was intended to be made the same weekend that the Rum & Sultana fudge was. It was suppose to be the dessert for my Thanksgiving dinner that weekend. 

Anyway if you read my post on the fudge you’ll already know I didn't because I had tonsillitis. I had to cancel Thanksgiving. I had plans to host my American friend, who moved here early last year, and my friends who are half American.

I was feeling very sorry for myself that weekend. Not that anyone really wants to know, but my throat was so swollen I looked like I had no neck. It was awful!

Then I thought I would make it for Christmas dinner dessert, but because Christmas Eve was chaotic (long story) I didn't make it the day before and couldn't be bothered to make it the day of. A problem I had most of the holiday season. 

I had 200g of pecans sitting in my cupboard waiting to be used. There are numerous ways I could have used them up. However I thought I’d stick with the original plan.

So, as I finally get to the point, here is the Salted Pecan Fudge Pie I made for absolutely no other reason then because I could.

I’m not very good with pastry. I’m not terrible, but there is definite room for improvement. Needless to say I get a little anxious every time I make my own pastry. However I needn't have worried as it turned out well, as did the filling!

I do like pecans, they are probably my favorite nut. It's a wonder why I have never even tried a pecan pie nor made one before now. This particular version is super sweet and I don’t think I could manage more than a small slice. Overall though I was very pleased with my efforts! Enjoy!

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

50g golden icing sugar

a pinch of salt

135g butter, straight from the fridge, cubed (small)

1 medium egg, beaten

2-3 tbsp milk

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and milk (start with 2 tbsp and only add a third if needed) and pulse until the dough comes together. Lightly dust your worktop with flour and very quickly knead the dough into a ball. Handle as little as possible as not to melt the butter. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

Lightly dust your worktop with flour and roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick and line your tart tin with it. Make sure the edge of the pastry stands just a little bit above the rim. Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork. Chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes to help prevent shrinkage.

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas6 and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up. Take the tin from the fridge and line with baking paper and baking beans. Place on top of preheated baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Once the time has passed remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is dry. Set aside.

Salted Pecan Fudge Pie

100g pecans, chopped plus 80-100g pecan halves

100g soft light brown sugar

125g butter

200ml double cream

1 tsp salt, flakes

2 medium eggs, beaten

3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed

Spread the chopped pecans evenly over a baking sheet and lightly toast, in the already heated oven, for 8-10 minutes. Watch them closely they can burn easily. Set aside.

Reduce the oven to 180C/160Cfan/gas4. Place the sugar, butter, and cream in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly before adding in the toasted pecans, salt, and eggs.

Pour into the pastry case and arrange the pecan halves on top in a circular pattern. Bake in the oven on the hot baking sheet for 25-30 minutes.

When the pie comes out of the oven gently heat the jam in a small saucepan and brush the top of the pie with the jam to give it a shiny glaze.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or eat on its own!

notes: Thanksgiving is always the last Thursday of November, however since being in the UK I tend to celebrate the following Saturday: mainly because I like a relaxed atmosphere and after work and school is never relaxing. This recipe is from The Higgidy Cookbook by Camilla Stephens. I bought it for myself from The Book People, right before Christmas they had a deal a day and I got it with some other cookbooks and books for the girls. 

Apple Pie Ice Cream

I never really liked apple pie growing up. I loved the crust and the apple cinnamon goo, but actual cooked apples, not so much!

In fact even today I don’t like an apple pie that is so full of apples that I should have just baked an apple and been done with it. 

(They have those on Pinterest the ones where they hollow out the apple and fill it with filling the cover the top with pastry and bake.)

Am I the only one who doesn't like cooked apples? But loves the crust and the goo?

Maybe I don't like cooked apples because generally they are either over cooked and mushy or not cooked enough and hard. 

I remember picking out the apples of a pie once and licking them clean and eating everything else. I don't think my mom was too impressed.

This ice cream is a perfect way to get that apple pie flavor without the fat sometimes not all the way cooked apples.

I also realize we are entering that time of year we are all thinking of warm comforting desserts. Not cold treats we crave in the warmer weather.

However this combination really brings the two seasons together. It's so good. The ice cream is rich and smooth and the filling and pie crust bring extra flavor and texture! It was delicious!

Apple Pie Ice Cream

• 1 batch of homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream (I used David Lebovitz’s Cinnamon Ice Cream from his book The Perfect Scoop.)
• 370g Apple Pie Filling (I used Nature’s Finest Pie Perfection Bramley Apple Fruit Filling.)
• 1 sweet pie crust, pre-made or homemade, crushed (I used pre-made)

Follow the instructions to make the cinnamon ice cream then as it’s churning in the maker add a couple handfuls of the crushed pie crust.

In the tub that will store the ice cream line the bottom with about 1/3 of the crushed pie crust.

Then layer about half of the cinnamon ice cream.

Using about half of the apple pie filling swirl it into the top of the ice cream layer before sprinkling on some more of the crushed pie crust.

Layer the rest of the ice cream on top and repeat with the pie filling, swirling it into the ice cream and cover the top with the remaining crushed pie crust.

Freeze for stated time in your ice cream recipe or possibly a little longer.

notes: Part 2 of apple week on United Cakedom. Yesterday I talked about my visit to The Winchester City Mill for their Apple Baking Day! I am not reprinting the ice cream recipe here, because I think it’s from such an awesome book that if you are even going to start making your own ice cream you should get it! DavidLebovitz has not approved of this post. If you are not prepared to buy his book then just find a recipe online! Recipe was inspired by Ben & Jerry’s “Oh My! Apple Pie!” ice cream. I wonder if it’s still available? 

Highland Bakery Tour!

I sometimes wonder how I can call myself a food blogger when I cannot manage to take a picture of all the stuff I eat – especially the sweet stuff. I mean realistically no one would want to see my breakfast, lunch, and dinner including all snacks and drinks although, such a project might make an interesting artistic project?

Looking through my photographs, of my recent stay in Scotland, I didn’t take pictures of half of the things we did, but like a million of one day. Talk about over compensation. Needless to say after all this pointless reflection is that I didn’t get a picture of all the bakery’s and treats I tried. Sorry about that. But here is a quick overview of where I went and what I had.

Harry Gow:

dream ring: pretty tasty fresh cream in a light airy pastry

not sure what this was called, but it was a bad dry meringue thing

mini Victoria sponge: was delicious light fluffy cake with fresh cream & jam

Something Sweet:

Irn Bru icream!! What!?
And some blue stuff that was nothing to shout about.

The Storehouse of Foulis:

I had this perfect genormas meringue with a cup of chai tea.

The Cromarty Bakery:

Yummy coconut tart. Perfect after the lobster I had for lunch! ;0) 

Sweet Treats:

sorry for the poor lighting, but it was more Irn Bru ice cream
better then the one above

Irn Bru fudge: so sweet you can only eat a little at a time

Deas Bakery:

lammington: yum! I also tried a raspberry tart and a ginger and toffee tart
no pics though they were all very good

Lastly I got to try Arbroth Smokies at the Highland Games! Delicious and a good time at the games!

notes: (to self) attempt a picture food log, first see if I can keep it up and second if it gets a following. All bakery/sweet shop names are linked! PS The Cromarty Bakery is hiring!! ;0) I have a few things I want to try to make that has been inspired by my visit to the Highlands. If you haven't already seen them I did make some Cranachan Cupcakes that are inspired by a traditional Scottish dessert.