One of the things that has puzzled me when I was experimenting with deviled eggs a while back is why sometimes the yolks would be off-centre or why there would be a little depression at one end of the egg. Well the answer is, they are older eggs.
A hard boiled egg made with fresh eggs will have a yolk that is centred. As the egg ages, the proteins that hold the yolk central begin to degenerate, and the yolks end up dropping when boiled. That is why also, if you drop a very fresh egg on the ground, it stays intact, while and older one will go "splat" all over the floor. Interesting, eh? Also Chef told us that most of the eggs used at George Brown are older eggs because they work better in baking and the baking program uses most of the eggs in the school.
Chef also demo'd three styles of omlettes for us: Bavarian-style, "Half moon" and Fritta. Bavarian-style is a runny omlette that is folded into itself twice and then plated and cut open and the filling laid exposed in the opening. The most common type is the "half moon" which is more firm and only folded once, either plain or on top of filling. The Fritta type is that basically used in a Toasted Western sandwich, and requires a flip to brown both sides. I have to work a bit on my flipping technique before I attempt to even explain that one to anyone.
And apparently you never wash your omlette pan. You wipe it clean but never immerse it in soapy water or else you lose the non-stick quality of the pan.
We also had a demo on Hollandaise, which resulted in us having a nice morning snack of a poached egg on an English muffin with Hollandaise - not quite Eggs Benny but close. For a refresher on Hollandaise see either my post regarding Julia Child's Julia Child's recipe or the second version I made of Caper Hollandaise.
Today's lab involved Quiche - Quiche with Crab, Asparagus and Swiss Cheese to be exact. And it turned out to be a yummy lunch. I think mine could have spent probably 5-10 minutes longer in the oven to set up but it tasted great and was eaten up by all here with lots of positive reviews.
The below recipe is one for the pie crust we used. I must admit I am terribly rusty with pie crusts (probably been 5 years since I made one) but mine turned out ok - so it is possible!! I think substituting a store bought crust is fine in this case, although a home made one does yield a nicer end product. These are not the instructions from my cooking manual, but are based on notes I took as to how the dish was demonstrated.
Pie Crust
10 oz all purpose flour
5 oz. butter or vegetable shortening
5 oz cold water (you will probably only need 4 oz depending on the hummidity)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, add flour, salt and brown sugar and combine. Using your fingers, pinch of small pieces of your fat and add to the flour. Be sure to work quickly so the fat does not get too warm. Then crumble the pieces of fat between your fingers to crack it into the flour (Chef's word). You should end up with pea-sized pieces of fat in the flour.
Make a well in the centre of your flour mixture, and then quickly add about 4 ounces of water. With your hand in a claw shape, run it around the bowl to losely combine. As the flour absorbs the mixture, the dough will begin to come together. Keep the dough moving and then bring it together in the center of the bowl, kneading for no longer than 30 seconds. If you knead much longer you will activate the gluten and end up with a less-tender pie crust. Your dough should hold together and not seem sticky and wet. And it should look "ugly" apparently - if it does not you have worked it too much.
Cook's Note: One great idea Chef gave us was to freeze your fat - butter, lard, shortening, etc. and then grate it into the bowl while very cold. I am going to try this next time.
Preheat your oven top 375 degrees. Once cold, place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a circle about 2" larger than the pan you are using. Fold the dough in half and lay over the pie plate. Lay flat across the pie plate, then gently press the pie dough into the pan to make sure it is flat and touching all surfaces of the plate. Trim excess pie dough with the dull edge of your knife. Cut a cartouche to a size just a bit bigger than your pie plate and lay across the dough. Fill with pie weights or dried beans to keep flat. Blind-bake in your preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until the dough starts to set. Remove from oven, remove parchment and pie weights or beans and let cool slightly.
Crab and Asparagus Filling
7 oz crab meat, gently squeezed to remove any excess moisture
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Swiss Emmenthal cheese, grated
1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
3 asparagus spears, ends broken off and diced
4 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a sauté pan. When hot, add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add chopped asparagus and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes more. Remove and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine cheese, salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg and toss. This will ensure that your spices are evenly distributed in the quiche and don't float to the top when you add the eggs and milk.
Sprinkle 1/2 of the dill, crab, cheese and onion-asparagus mixture on the bottom the pie shell, then add a second layer of each.
Break eggs into a stainless steel mixing bowl and whisk. Add milk and continue to whisk. Pour egg-milk mixture evenly over the toppings.
Bake in oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until set. To check for doneness, give the quiche pan a little jiggle and if the quiche doesn't jiggle back, it is set. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment