Tag: course

Tarte Tatin – See What the Others Aren’t Willing to Show You

When I looked at some other tarte tatin recipes on
YouTube, I noticed that very few showed the “flip on to the plate” step.
They would just skip from the out of the oven shot to the final beauty shot. The
reason of course, is that very few tarte tatins come out of the hot pan
perfectly, and if they showed that, then you may not think they are as awesome as their profile says they are.

So, it’s with much pride that I show you the whole ugly
scene that is the tarte tatin dismount. The good news is, it’s very simple to
slap everything back on the crust before it cools, and none will be the wiser.
This is even easier if you’re doing a version with very soft and tender apples
and lots of caramel, which is my preference, as you’ll see.

If you do a Google image search for a classic, old recipe
like this, you usually see a lot of photos that look alike, but that’s not
necessarily so with tarte tatin. You’ll see an amazingly diverse array, which
is fascinating since they were all made with the same few basic ingredients.
Most of this is a result of cooking time in the pan before baking.

Some feature firm, barely cooked apples, while others cook
the fruit all the way down to a buttery, caramelized jam. The beauty of a
recipe that uses just pastry dough, butter, apples and sugar to make the magic,
is that no matter how yours comes out you’ll enjoy it. Of course, you’ll want
to hedge your bets with some vanilla bean ice cream to be safe. I hope you give
this classic French treat a try soon. Enjoy!

3 large apples, quartered

3 tbsp butter

3/4 cup sugar

pie dough for a single crust

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Peppermint Meringues

Light and airy peppermint swirls. ‘Tis the season for all things peppermint, shopping and big wooly mittens, cookies and hot cocoa, and of course, cookie exchanges.

And what can be more symbolic this time of year than peppermint flavored cookies.

The taste of these meringues is somewhere between a cookie and a candy cane. I found out by accident that dissolving one into my morning coffee with a little whipped cream instantly makes me feel like I’m drinking a Starbucks Peppermint Latte. I bet it would be yummy in hot cocoa too!

Meringues are made with egg whites and sugar, so they are naturally low-fat and gluten-free. They can be flavored with different extracts to get different results, and baking them in different temperatures will yield different textures. Some of my favorites varieties include the Chocolate Chip Clouds^[1], Black and White Clouds^[2], and To Die For Coconut Cookies^[3].

These beautiful candy cane gems are colored with a paint brush and a little gel paste food coloring (available at Michaels) just before piping to give you the peppermint stripe. Completely optional of course, but it really makes the cookie. Always use metal bowls and beaters and be sure they are squeaky clean before making meringues to guarantee good results.

For more skinny cookie recipes^[4] to add to your cookie exchange this holiday season, click here^[5].

Thank you GLAD for bringing us this post. Learn more about Glad’s Mom Made Cookie Exchange program here^[6].

Peppermint Meringues
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 30 • Size: 3 cookies • Old Points: 0 pts • Points+: 1
Calories: 21 • Fat: 0 g • Carb: 5 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 0.5 g • Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 6 mg

Ingredients:

    • 3 large egg whites
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 1 drop peppermint concentrate or 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
    • Red gel-paste food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a small open-star tip (such as Wilton M1). Set aside.

Place egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Mix in peppermint concentrate.

Using a new small paintbrush, paint 2 or 3 stripes of red food coloring inside the pastry bag. Fill bag with 1 to 2 cups meringue. Pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets. Refill bag as necessary, adding food coloring each time.

Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Shut the oven off and leave in the oven for 30 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks then place in a sealed container.

Makes 90 – 100 small cookies.

Adapted from Martha Stewart^[7]

References

^{^} Chocolate Chip Clouds (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Black and White Clouds (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} To Die For Coconut Cookies (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} skinny cookie recipes (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} click here (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Glad’s Mom Made Cookie Exchange program here (r1.fmpub.net)
^{^} Martha Stewart (www.marthastewart.com)

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Make-Ahead Turkey Wing Gravy, Because You Have Better Things to Do

I’m not a big fan of “make-ahead” recipes, but when it comes
to Thanksgiving, the less we have to do before dinner, the better. This turkey
wing gravy will not only free up valuable kitchen time, but chances are it will
look and taste even better than those frantic, last-minute versions.

A world-class gravy, while not a difficult procedure, does
require a little bit of finesse and attention to detail. Of course, screaming
kids, chatty relatives, and alcohol consumption are the natural enemies of
finesse and attention to detail, so for that reason I’m a big fan of this
alternative technique.

By the way, as I mentioned at the end of the video, just
because you’re making this ahead of time, doesn’t mean you’re throwing away all
those amazing pan drippings. While your turkey’s resting (should be at least 30
minutes), pour off the juices, skim off the fat, and add it to your gravy.

For this reason, I’ll generally make the gravy a little
thicker than I want, knowing I’m going to dump another cup or so of liquid in
later. Speaking of thickness, as with all the sauces we do, you are in complete
control. If you want thicker gravy, use more roux and/or reduce further. If you
want something a bit lighter, use less roux and/or more stock.

Either way, making the turkey gravy ahead of time is just
smart logistics, and frees you up for more important things, like watching
football and fishing for compliments. I hope you give this a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the stock:

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 large turkey wings

10 cups cold water (1 or 2 to deglaze the pan, and 8 to add
to stock)

4 springs thyme

2 cloves garlic, optional

For the gravy:

2-3 tablespoons reserved turkey fat

3 tbsp butter

1/2 cup flour

about 6 cups reserved, strained turkey stock

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne