Monthly Archives: September 2009
Pumpkin Polenta with Chorizo and Beans
| September 30, 2009 | Filled under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, Fall, Light, Mexican and Southwestern, Winter |
For the past few years, as soon as the cool weather sets in and apples and squash start appearing in the markets we start talking about having pumpkin polenta for dinner. I love the way the creamy polenta contrasts with the spicy topping. Its also extremely fast and easy to make – about 20 minutes start to finish! The dish also benefits from sitting in the fridge overnight – the polenta ill firm up and the flavors in the topping meld together. I recommend making extra so that you can have leftovers for lunch.[....] Read More
Vols-au-Vent Take Two: Apples and Cream Cheese
| September 29, 2009 | Filled under Daring Kitchen, Desserts, Fall, Fruit, Vegetarian or Vegan |
I’m really not happy with how the photos of this came out, but I promised you that I would post it today so please believe me when I say that it tasted much better than it looks here.
One of my first ideas when vols-au-vent were announced as this month’s Daring Bakers challenge was to use apples. It’s the perfect time of year for them, and I wanted to highlight their natural sweetness. Instead of using a traditional pastry cream or custard, I used a cream cheese base. The tartness of the cream cheese paired perfectly with the sweet apples and made a delicious dessert that wasn’t too sugary-sweet.
Unless you’re feeling particularly brave or adventurous, I would just just make this with prepared puff pasty. If you do want to take the plunge and make your own though I do have a few tips that I left out of yesterday’s post: The dough is easy t wrk with when its well-chilled, but it becomes a nightmare as it warms up. The refrigerator is your friend! In addition to chilling my dough in between turns, I also found it helpful to chill my rolling pin – I just put it right in the fridge! I also thought it would help to have a cool surface to roll the pastry out on – since I don’t have a marble slab like was recommended, I used two metal cookie sheets. I stuck those right in the fridge too, which kept them cool and prevents the butter from getting too soft while I was working with it. [....]
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