Kitchen Gods

You know how some days you just know the kitchen gods are shining on you? Tonight I made Lasagne for dinner using the Thermomix.  Ive made lasagne hundreds of times before (yes hundreds, I once had a job that was purely making lasagne!), but this was actually the first time I made the sauce in the Thermie because the last time I used pre-minced mince it was a disaster.  I had over mixed it and it was too fine and tasted horrible and grainy.  But I was re-inspired by two things, I watched a consultant do a talk the other night where she made delicious stuffed capsicums.  She was using pre-minced mince and I noted her technique which yielded the perfect sauce!  She had fed the mince in through the lid bit by bit, straight onto hot sauce as the blade were rotating on the slowest speed.  My other inspiration was today at a demo I was making the Pasta e fagiole from the Everyday Cookbook which reminded me how you can make a sauce from pure vegetables and how delicious and healthy it is. 

So this is how I made my Lasagne

2 smallish onions
2 cloves garlic
    chopped speed 6, 3 seconds

1 Tbs olive oil
    cooked Varoma temp, 2 mins, speed 1

2 carrots, roughly chopped
1/4 zucchini (that was floating around the fridge, you can pretty much chuck in anything!)
5 button mushrooms
a small handful of parsley
1 small red capsicum de seeded and quartered
good pinch fresh or dried herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme)
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
60g white wine
1 400g can tomatoes
then fill that can with water and add into TM
2 heaped Tablespoons Thermie stock
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    Puree speed 6, 20 seconds
    Heat 90C, 10 minutes, speed 2
(The reason Im saying 90 is because I did 100, then when I went to add the mince it was boiling and some splashed up and burnt my hands)
Ok now set the Thermomix again for 20 minutes, this time 100C and speed slow (spoon), reverse and add 1kg mince by breaking it up roughly and dropping through the lid, every now and then incorporate it with your spatula and then continue until all is in (this process shouldnt take longer than 3 minutes).
This recipe really pushes your Thermomix to the max quantity line, but it makes a massive serve of Lasagne.

 After 20 mins either pour into a bowl or casserole dish carefully, or if you have a second Thermomix bowl just swap them over and then place in the bowl
70g Plain Flour
70g butter
    mix speed 4 for 3 seconds then add
1 kg milk
good pinch salt or 3/4 tsp Thermie stock
    cook for 8 minutes, 90C, speed 4 then add
40g milled or grated parmesan cheese and check if it needs more salt

I then used a packet of dried Lasagne sheets 500g and layered pasta, sauce, pasta, sauce, béchamel, pasta, sauce, pasta, sauce, pasta, béchamel and topped with grated mozzarella, and baked at 180 for approx 35 mins, until golden, (if its browning too fast you can cover it). Allow to rest 20 mins before cutting.

It was the perfect amount to fill my largest baking dish, perfect amount of sauce, perfect amount of béchamel, perfect amount of pasta, not one piece left.  Ive never actually read the Thermomix recipe for Lasagne, I have no idea of the method they recommend but I think this turned out perfect.  I love those moments,  I was smiling happily thinking about how surely the kitchen gods were smiling down on me for today at least, and at that moment as I bent down to put the Lasagne in the oven my pants split, a giant 20cm gaping hole.  I guess the fashion gods will visit me some other time……

What is Sourdough?

Sourdough bread is bread leavened with lactobacillus culture instead of processed yeast, or a combination of the two. It is one of the earliest methods of leavening (rising) bread, and is created by making what is known as a sourdough culture or ‘starter’. The starter is made by mixing flour and water (and sometimes other things containing enzymes) over a process of around 11 days to activate the naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts. The sour flavour of the bread comes from the lactic acid produced by the good bacteria, and once you have your starter the process of making the bread takes from 1 to 3 days. Most larger bakeries producing sourdough use yeast, then add some of the starter so that you still get the sour flavour but don’t have to wait as long to bake. Some traditional bakeries use starters that are over a hundred years old, mine is 4 years young.

What is Bakers Flour?

What is Bakers flour?.
Bakers flour is simply a high protein (gluten) flour, its what helps give bread and pizza dough its elasticity.You know how we call pastry ‘short pastry’ or shortbread has the word ‘short’ in it? Well this is referring to the gluten.You know how when we make pastry, scones and shortbread, the first thing we do is combine cold butter and flour, well, gluten is activated by liquids, so by coating the flour granules in fat first, this creates a barrier from the liquid, and therefore ‘shortening’ the gluten strands. So once cooked the texture is crumbly, a perfect pastry or shortbread is deliciously crumbly or ‘short’.
When we make breads we want the opposite, we want to get that gluten wet and start it stretching.This is why we knead bread and not pastry.The gluten is stretching and this is giving our dough its elasticity so that as the yeast activates and carbon dioxide bubbles form, the dough expands but is held together by the gluten.
Now here's the thing, regular every day plain flour in Australia, is actually quite high in protein, so for doughs its actually perfect. And for ‘short’ doughs? Its fine too, but if you want to be really fancy, just add a teaspoon of cornflour or rice flour per cup of flour for perfect pastry, shortbread and sponges.

BREAD

PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEAASE!!! Im getting so frustrated reading terrible bread making advice. Please to 'those' people STOP writing about bread when you haven't a clue!! 


This is a excerpt from one of my customer newsletters I write, so if you're interested in breadmaking please read this or find a good bread making book that explains the fundamentals. Ignore all the bad advice and it will make your bread making experience far more enjoyable and a far bigger success!





COMMON QUESTIONS


The most common questions I’ve had from my customers are about bread. Once you understand a few fundamental rules about bread making, the process becomes much easier.
Rule number 1: Bread kneads time. (pardon the pun!) Seriously though, bread needs time, make your bread with
one of the lovely recipes from the EDC or recipe community, then pop it in a bowl covered with Gladwrap, or if you have
a “Thermomat” which is a silicone bread mat, wrap it up. Leave to prove for around 30 mins-1 hour depending on the temperature of the day.The ideal temperature is 37degC so if it’s a cold day find a warm spot on a window sill or car seat. This will allow the yeast to thrive, which creates carbon dioxide bubbles and this is what makes the bread stretch and grow.
Rule number 2: Punch it down!
Once your bread dough has had its first proving, punch it down so that it returns to its original size.This serves two purposes, you are releasing the stale carbon dioxide produced by the newly awakened yeast, and making the dough more elastic as it will now rise and prove a second time. So either shape into a loaf (freeform or tin), or made little individual rolls, and place onto a baking paper lined tray.
Rule number 3: Don’t kill the yeast.
Yeast is killed at temperatures over 50 degrees. So use nice tepid water or milk (37C) when making bread but don’t use hot water. And remember if your bread hasn’t risen yet before it goes into a hot oven, once that dough reaches 50C you wont be getting any more rise. So have patience and let it grow.
Rule number 4: Don’t time it, watch it!
Now preheat your oven to 190C and wait for your bread to almost double in size on the tray while the oven is preheating then place it straight into the hot oven. Bread rolls are ready when golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped
on the underside, usually about 15-20 mins depending on the efficiency of your oven. And a loaf takes about 45mins. Because everyone’s ovens are different, its handy to have an oven thermometer to check the temperature, but if you’re really unsure, just remove a bread roll and cut it open. 




As a final note, I recently read a recipe for baguette dough that requires 12 hours resting in the fridge. This is utilising an age old fermentation process using the natural bacterias contained in flour. You use cold water to make the dough which will stop the yeast rising straight away, allowing time for the natural good bacterias to awaken, this produces a small amount of lactic acid will give the bread a slightly sour flavour.  This is a quick variation on making a traditional sourdough culture which is an 11 day process.


There are fewer things more satisfying than successfully baking a fresh loaf of bread from scratch, but failures can be frustrating, knowledge is power, I hope this helps!!

Dessert anyone?

Why is there not more dessert pizza in the world? Why is it that the only time dessert pizza seems to come into the picture is right after Ive already gorged on pizza. Isnt that the last thing I want? Does it not make more sense to have a mousse, or soufflé, desserts comprising of mostly air, after eating a greasy heavy dinner, and visa versa enjoy a delicious lamb salad or some other low carb dinner and follow it with an amazing mango and icecream dessert pizza so as to avoid the carb coma?

This epiphany came to me last night when I hosted a Thermomix demo at my house on behalf of a friend. Seeing as it was at my house I decided to play by my rules and change it up a bit, so instead of wholegrain bread and chocolate custard, two of the usual 6 courses at a demo, I made sweet pizza dough topped with strawberries, and then chocolate sauce to top the pizza. And now, I want it every day.

Here is my recipe

500g bakers flour

1 Tablespoon dried yeast

2 Tablespoons raw sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

300g warm water or milk

Mix speed 5 for 5 seconds, then interval speed for 1 minute 30sec.

Allow to prove then take the dough and roll out onto 2 floured pizza trays and top with a few frozen strawberries. (I’m sure this would work fine with fresh too but I’d cut them up if using fresh or they’ll dry out in the oven).

Allow to prove another 10-15 mins while preheating oven to 200C.

Bake at 200 C for approx. 15 minutes until edges are just starting to brown and dough is just cooked.

Dust with icing sugar.

While the pizza is cooking,  place in TM-

400g  55% Belgian chocolate buttons (or any dark chocolate you have)

Chop at speed 9 for 5 seconds then add

400g sweetened condensed milk

120g cream (not low fat!)

and mix on 50deg, 5 mins, speed 3.

Serve drizzled over cooked pizza, go ahead and have some icecream with it too…. Why not…..

Now here’s the thing, don’t wait, don’t say, yeah that sounds nice, next time we have pizza we’ll do that, make it now! Make it today, tomorrow and any other day you feel like dessert, experiment with flavours and sauces, I have learnt from experience that chocolate sauce is best added after firing, but nutella seems to hold up to the heat a bit better. Nutella and marshmallows, Banana and caramel, mango, pineapple and praline, go nuts……..

Through chef's eyes

Yes, well its been ages. Don't be mad at me and I won't be mad at you.  A friend told me my blog was a SHAM! Because I started it then just stopped, all i'll say is, how did we ever live without the internet?!
Life as a consultant is treating me so well! Work?, I dont feel like I work at all and people are so grateful for my demos! (Except Rory because every time I do a demo I take away his Thermomix!).  My customers are all lovely and very keen to share their cooking experiences with me, we're just lucky the machines' life expectancy is around 40 years as it will take that long to simply scratch the surface of what this machine is capable of!
Ive made sooooo many things with my thermie since my last blog, Ive used it to cater a couple of events, my favourite thing being just how quickly and perfectly it  helps me make pastry!  Ive tweaked the TM mash recipe to make it like the french style truffle mash I used to make at my old job, and served it at a function. Everyone was drunk and loud but as the meal was served all I could hear was 'aklsjdhdfohawrf MASH klsajhfdfgjjhd MASH aljshhff MASH!' as people took their first bite.
I took thermie on a girls weekend and as soon as I arrived made strawberry sorbet for our champagnes, and an assortment of dips to last the weekend.  Then cooked the bechemel for lasagne in the thermie and sat back and relaxed shortly after, with a champagne or ten....
I kept revisiting the kitchen thinking about what else I could whip up, and then getting told to sit down and relax, but as I'm sure every chef will know, we are most comfortable in the kitchen.  I became a chef because I love cooking, but even more than cooking, I love cooking for a reason, that's when you really get 'in the zone', under pressure and focussed, it'[s meditation for us.  Sometimes, I have to remind myself that not everyone else is on the same wavelength as chefs, not everyone wants their chocolate factory experience tarnished by me exclaiming, 'You know they don't actually make chocolate here!',  or their cheese factory experience with me saying 'You know they don't actually make cheese here!'.  Later as we were walking along the beach admiring the beauty of washed up sea urchins, I picked up one and excitedly exclaimed 'This one still has food inside!' At that point we realised I view the world slightly differently than my friends,  through chefs eyes.....

Thermomix vs Kitchenaid

Thermomix vs Kitchenaid

Subject: Shortbread Dough.

Thermomix= 30 seconds. (perfectly fine breadcrumb like)
Kitchenaid= 15 minutes. (and still not perfect)


.........Thermomix wins.