Alain Ducasse’s Chocolate Éclairs

July 21, 2017 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Éclair Image Used Under Creative Commons License From allmychefs.com

Citizens! I, the mysteriously hidden yet globally Machiavellian TFD, have decided to share a recipe for a favorite dessert, as made by the legendary master chef Alain Ducasse! :)

An éclair is an oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry is then filled with a vanilla-, coffee- or chocolate-flavored custard (crème pâtissière), or with whipped cream, or chiboust cream; and then iced with fondant icing.

Other fillings include pistachio- and rum-flavored custard, fruit-flavored fillings, or chestnut purée. The icing is sometimes caramel, in which case the dessert may be called a bâton de Jacob.

The word comes from the French: éclair ‘flash of lightning’, so named because it is eaten quickly (in a flash).

The éclair originated during the nineteenth century in France where it was called “pain à la Duchesse” or “petite duchesse” until 1850. It is a popular member of the pie family served all over the world. The word is first attested both in English and in French in the 1860s.

Some food historians speculate that éclairs were first made by Antonin Carême (1784–1833), the famous French chef. The first known English-language recipe for éclairs appears in the Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, published in 1884.

Some pastry chains in the United States and Canada market Long John doughnuts as éclairs or éclair doughnuts. Long Johns are not identical with éclairs, as Long Johns use doughnut pastry, which is yeast-risen or batter-derived, rather than choux dough, which is steam-puffed. Long Johns are usually filled with vanilla pudding or custard and topped with cake icing.

Citizens, I fear nothing except the shame of coming up with a second-best recipe – thus, I will defer to the master! This recipe hails from one of my favorite sites, allmychefs.com – it is a paid repository, but the recipes are from the greatest French masters and it is well worth the price of entry (as this recipe proves!)!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

Alain Ducasse’s Chocolate Éclairs

Ingredients

For the choux pastry:
2 ounces (60 g) butter
4 ½ ounces (125 g) water
4 ½ ounces (125 g) milk
¼ ounce (4 grams) fine salt
4 ½ ounces (125 g) type 55 flour
7 ¾ ounces (220 g) eggs (about 4 eggs)
***
For the glaze:
¾ ounce (20 g) egg yolk
¾ ounce (20 g) egg white
1/3 ounce (10 g) water
1 gram fine salt
1 gram superfine sugar
***
Preparing the chocolate pastry cream:
2 cups (500 ml) milk
3 ½ ounces (100 g) superfine sugar
3 ½ ounces (10 g) egg yolks
1 ¼ ounces (35 grams) custard powder
1 ¼ ounces (35 grams) flour
1 vanilla bean
½ ounce (15 g) cocoa powder
2 ⅛ ounces (60 g) dark couverture chocolate (70% cocoa)
***
Finishing:
14 ounces (400 g) white fondant
¾ ounce (20 g) water (or 30° Baumé syrup) - 30° Baumé syrup is made from 137 parts of sugar to 100 parts of water
Depending on desired color: - cocoa powder (as needed) - cocoa butter (as needed)

Instructions

For the choux pastry
Sift the flour.
Cut the butter into small pieces.
Pour the milk and the water into a pot of suitable size. Add the salt and butter pieces.
Bring to a gentle boil, so that the butter melts completely just as the water
starts to boil. When the butter has melted, remove the pot from the heat. Add all of the flour.
Use a spatula to incorporate the flour into the mixture until smooth. Place the pot over medium heat and stir the mixture vigorously with the spatula to dry it out. Stop stirring when this panade comes away from the sides of the pot and a film forms on the bottom.
Transfer to the bowl of a mixer fitted with a flat beater attachment.
While beating on low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Wait for each to be fully
incorporated into the mixture before adding the next.
If the dough seems too firm, add a little egg. It is ready when it forms a peak on the spatula and has a glossy appearance. Transfer to a bowl and scrape off the excess.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F) (deck oven) or 170°C (350°F) (convection oven).
Fit a pastry bag with a size 14–16 fluted tip and fill with dough.
Pipe éclairs of about 15cm (6 inches) onto a greased baking sheet.
***
For the glaze:
Mix all of the ingredients for the glaze in a bowl.
Glaze the éclairs.
Bake about 15 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a rack.
Set aside in a dry place.
***
Preparing the chocolate pastry cream:
Combine the milk with the split vanilla bean in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the custard powder and flour and incorporate.
Pour the hot milk over this mixture while whisking constantly.
Transfer the mixture to the pot and bring to a boil for 1 minute.
Finely chop the chocolate.
Flavor the warm pastry cream with the cocoa powder and chopped chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Fit a pastry bag with a size 8 plain tip and fill with the flavored pastry cream. Cool quickly and refrigerate.
***
Finishing:
Make 3 holes at the bottom of the éclairs using a size 2 plain pastry bag tip.
Fill the éclairs through the holes.
Warm the fondant in a high-sided skillet over low heat.
Dilute the contents of the skillet with a bit of water.
Add the cocoa powder + cocoa mass.
Heat to a maximum of 35°C (95 F).
Glaze the éclairs and smooth with your fingers.
Transfer to a rack and allow the glaze to harden.
Refrigerate.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/alain-ducasses-chocolate-eclairs/

The Hirshon Punjabi Fried Potatoes With Spices – जीरा आलू

July 19, 2017 by The Generalissimo 4 Comments

Jeera Aloo Image Used Under Creative Commons License From pinterest.com

Citizens, the majority of the recipes that I like to post here on TFD for you – my most beloved Citizens – are rather complex, because I prefer layered flavors and nuances of technique. Punjabi chefs are renowned for creating dishes of this type – but not all of them fall into this category!

That said, I figured it’s time to throw you all a metaphoric bone and give you a simple recipe to enjoy that has no compromise on flavor or technique!

Jeera Aloo is a typical vegetarian Indian dish of Punjabi origin, which is often served as a side dish and normally goes well with hot puris, chapatti, roti or dal.

Its main ingredients are potatoes (aloo), cumin seeds (jeera) and Indian spices. Other possible ingredients are red chili powder, ginger, coriander powder, curry leaves, vegetable oil and salt.

In its traditional form the dish is not hot, but it could be spiced up by adding powdered cayenne pepper. Other variations of the dish make use of sweet potatoes instead of regular ones.

Jeera aloo is popular as a bachelors’ dish because it is one of the easiest and fastest Indian recipes and it takes less than 20 minutes to be prepared. It is also broadly consumed during fasting days as it is a strict vegetarian dish.

Citizens, I have every confidence this will become a new favorite dish for you and those closest to you! :)

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Punjabi Fried Potatoes With Spices – जीरा आलू

Ingredients

5 medium-size potatoes, boiled peeled and cut into bite-size cubes, about 4 cups of cubed potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds (jeera)
⅛ teaspoon asafœtida (hing)
1 tablespoon thinly-sliced ginger
2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced lengthwise
1 ½ teaspoons crushed coriander seed (dhania)
¼ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
¼ teaspoon red chili powder (TFD recommends a not hot version such as Kashmiri chili powder or try hot paprika instead)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mango powder (amchoor)
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (hara dhania) to garnish

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Oil is the right temperature when cumin seeds crack immediately after being put in the pan.
Add cumin seeds and asafetida after seeds crack add ginger and green chilies and stir for few seconds.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add all the remaining spices, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, mango powder, and salt. Stir for few seconds.
Add potatoes and mix well with Masala. Stir fry for 4-5 minutes. All the potatoes should be coated with spices.
Turn off the heat and add cilantro. Mix it well and serve it hot.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/hirshon-punjabi-fried-potatoes-spices-%e0%a4%9c%e0%a5%80%e0%a4%b0%e0%a4%be-%e0%a4%86%e0%a4%b2%e0%a5%82/

The Hirshon Georgian Poultry, Herb and Tomato Stew – ჩახოხბილი

July 17, 2017 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Chakhokhbili Image Used Under Creative Commons License From eatwithepleasure.com

Citizens, few recipe postings bring greater delight to your all-knowing Dictator of culinary nirvana than those from the magnificent country of Georgia! There is perhaps no greater cuisine on the planet as healthful, delicious and varied as those from this cradle of humanity (Georgian history goes back tens of thousands of years!).

This recipe helps to epitomize Summer for me, with its reliance on the finest and freshest tomatoes – think of it as chicken fricassée raised to a whole new level of flavor and you wouldn’t be far off! I call this recipe “poultry” as opposed to “chicken” because I prefer to use game such as duck or pheasant in it, as the original version was made!

As noted on the excellent food blog eatwithpleasure.com:

Chakhokhbili is a lot easier to make than it is to pronounce. (The “kh” sounds like the “h” in a Russian-accented “hello,” or the “ch” in the German “ich.”) While you can certainly find this dish on restaurant menus in Georgia, it is equally likely to show up on weeknight dinner tables at home because it comes together quickly and is the kind of thing you can make a big batch of and then easily reheat the leftovers for another meal (or two or three, if there’s only one of you).

The dish’s name comes from the Georgian word for pheasant (khokhobi), and if you happen to have a pheasant on hand, you can substitute it for the chicken in the recipe. You could also use turkey, duck, or Cornish game hen. In Georgia today, chicken is the most common bird used for this recipe.

My Georgian host mother Shushana used to serve chakhokhbili with the slightly salty, pully bread she’d pick up at the bakery across the street from our apartment building.

My version uses TFD’s preferred herb set for this recipe, plus a bit of clarified butter mixed with grapeseed oil to really allow high-temperature browning with buttery flavor and savor! If at all possible, try and use real Georgian garlic for this and all Georgian recipes – my favorite varietal can be bought here and elsewhere if you search by Google. Try one of the other hundreds of Georgian garlic varietals if mine is unavailable – they are ALL exceptional!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Georgian Poultry, Herb and Tomato Stew – ჩახოხბილი

Ingredients

A 5 lb. chicken, trimmed of fat and skin and cut into parts (or 2 lbs. chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks. I wouldn’t recommend only breast meat, because it tends to get dry.) TFD prefers to use 2 pounds of boneless duck breasts or pheasant pieces on the bone
3 Tbsp. grapeseed oil + 1 Tbsp. ghee (preferred) or butter
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
⅛ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 medium yellow onions, cut in half and then into ½ in. slices
4 cloves garlic, minced – if you can find Georgian garlic varietals to use, so much the better! Georgia has hundreds of types of garlic, more than any other nation on Earth in fact! :D
4 large ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored and diced—you can blanch and peel them first if you like, but I don’t bother)
½ Tbsp. red wine vinegar
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup tarragon, finely chopped
¼ cup celery leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup basil, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

Instructions

If you’re starting with a whole bird, cut it into parts, removing fat and skin as you go: separate the wings, the thighs, the drumsticks, and the breast, then cut the breast into 2-inch chunks.
Heat butter or oil in a cast iron skillet until it begins to sizzle. (You can use any heavy-bottomed pan with high sides, but avoid nonstick pans, which keep things from browning properly.) Add the poultry pieces, salt, pepper, and cayenne, stirring to coat. Brown the poultry lightly on all sides.
Remove the poultry pieces from the skillet and add the onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic until it turns fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the vinegar, and half the herbs, stirring to combine.
Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and add the poultry back to the pan. Stir in the rest of the herbs and cover the pan. Simmer until poultry is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Serve with additional herbs sprinkled on top, with crusty bread, pita bread or naan, or over basmati rice.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/hirshon-georgian-poultry-herb-tomato-stew-%e1%83%a9%e1%83%90%e1%83%ae%e1%83%9d%e1%83%ae%e1%83%91%e1%83%98%e1%83%9a%e1%83%98/