Oui, Oui, Oui…all the way home! Baking Julia’s French Bread with the DBs.

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This month the Daring Bakers challenge is Julia Child’s French Bread and is being hosted by the equally lovely Breadchick  Mary from The Sourdough and Sara from I Like to Cook.

Read the recipe here.

It was fun to spend time with Julia Child, in a sense, by connecting to her through the words and instructions in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2.  Rick and I had  listened to her autobiography, “My Life in France”, while on a road trip to Napa and Sonoma California last Summer. So we knew how hard she had worked on developing a French Bread recipe that could be made by the home cook but still approximate the bread available in Boulangeries all over France. We learned that it is not necessary to bake bread if you live in France because each neighborhood has its own baker. You buy fresh bread every day from him (or her) and do not bake it yourself. Continue reading →

Rick’s Chile Powder Production

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My sweetie makes drop dead good chile powder.

We ran out recently so it was time to  get the grinder going and rustle up another batch of tasty heat in a can. We gather dried chilies as we find them- grow some ourselves and load up at Central Market  (the center of all things good) whenever we go to visit my sister and her family in Texas or they come here.

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(Sorry about these photos my Point and shoot is temperamental.)

Rick uses a mixture of dried chilies, garlic, toasted cumin, salt and one other secret ingredient he won’t let me name. -It’ll be good without it but it’s great with it. Sorry

This time I talked him into adding a small length of dried vanilla bean to the mix so we’ll see how that turns out. I predict a winner. 😉

He starts by gathering dried Ancho, Pasilla, Guajillo, Negro, Mulato, California, Japones, and Chipotle chilies. He removes the seeds by cutting or tearing them open. (You might want to use gloves here just in case-unless you have asbestos hands.) You don’t want to add the seeds for a nice full bodied chile powder- it would be too hot.  He toasts cumin seeds in a dried skillet, cools them and then adds all of the ingredients in small handfuls to a coffee grinder we have dedicated to spice grinding.

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Oh I love a man in an apron! Um-mm-mm!

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I’m not really giving you a recipe here but this is easy to make on your own and so much more flavorful than most chile powders- you can make your own custom blend.  It has scads of uses. We use it in eggs, quesadillas, Chili and Carnitas to name a few. Sometimes we share it with friends and family and they always come back for more. Have some fun, experiment and make your own!

Rick suggested that I add a tip we learned from a Vietnamese friend: If you forget and rub your eyes with a hot pepper hand- have someone with long hair (hopefully someone you know well and love 😉 ) let you rub their hair in your eyes- I swear it works! The capsaicin in the peppers that is causing the burn must bind to the protein in the hair I guess! All I know is you’re burning to death one minute and the next there is relief. Luckily I can use my own hair and don’t have to ask someone else.

xoxo

A GF Tea treat- Coconut Dacquoise-Chocolate-Caramel Mousse Stacks

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The extremely lovely Naomi over at Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried is hosting a blogging event called Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free with the theme of Tea Time Treats. Naomi is just that lovely that she’s allowing me to get this in a bit late due to technical difficulties. So without further ado (cause we hates further ado-we do)… here is my entry:

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I received this adorable Peter Rabbit tea set from my sweetie on my last birthday!

I love tea parties!!!

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Coconut Dacquoise-Chocolate-Caramel Mousse  Stacks

Makes (4) servings

First make the Caramel Mousse:

  • 8 ounces of chewy caramel coarsely chopped- can be chocolate covered caramel bars, homemade or the individual squares that drive you mad trying to unwrap them
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons milk
  • 1-1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
  • 1 egg white or equivalent substitute- heed all the food safety warnings and use your own judgement since it will not be cooked

Melt the caramel with the milk in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water or even more simply in the microwave powering for 20-30 seconds at a time and stirring in between. Take care not to scorch it. Cool for ten minutes.  Beat the heavy cream to soft peaks. Stir a spoonful of the beaten cream into the melted caramel to lighten it and then fold in the rest. In a small bowl beat the egg white or substitute until just stiff and then fold that into the caramel cream mixture. You now have mousse. Chill it for several hours until set.

Chocolate Disks

  • Melt six ounces of chopped, good quality chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave using the method described for melting the caramel above.
  • Take a piece of baking parchment and draw twelve 2″ circles in marker or dark pen. Turn the parchment over onto a cookie sheet and spread the melted chocolate using an offset spatula into rounds using the marked circles as guides.
  • Top four of the chocolate rounds with a little coconut and chopped almonds.
  • Place in a cool area until set up, they should pull off of the parchment easily when set

Coconut Dacquoise

  • 1/2 Cup finely grated unsweetened dried coconut
  • 1/2 blanched almonds- slivered are okay to use
  • 3/4 cup wheat free confectioner’s sugar
  • 3 large egg whites at room temperature
  • 1/3 vanilla scented  or plain granulated sugar (place your used vanilla beans in a canister of sugar and you’ll get vanilla scented sugar- I always keep one by my coffee maker)

Take another sheet of parchment and repeat drawing the circles as for the chocolate disks. Flip it over onto a baking pan.

Using a pulsing action in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, grind the coconut and almonds as finely as you can without making almond butter. A constant on-off action is what is required with a stop to rub the mixture between your thumb and fingers checking for fineness.

In a dry mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the room temperature egg whites on medium speed until they turn opaque. Add the sugar in a steady stream and beat until  stiff glossy peaks form. (Note: When beating egg whites I always rub my bowl with a little vodka or vinegar to make sure it’s grease free.) Fold in the ground coconut and almond in 3-4 additions. Put into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Starting at the center of each drawn circle on the parchment on the baking tray, pipe in a spiral making sure to connect the piping all the way to the edge to make a piped disk. Bake for 30-35 minutes in a preheated 325F oven propped slightly ajar with a wooden spoon if needed. They should be slightly golden brown when done. Remove the parchment with the dacquoise still on it to a cooling rack and let completely cool. Remove with an offset spatula if needed but they may pull right off if you’re gentle.

To assemble:

On a serving plate, place a round of dacquoise and top with a plain chocolate disk. Place the mousse in a piping bag fitted with a star type tip and pipe in a circular motion on top of the chocolate disk, top with another dacquoise round, a plain chocolate disk, more mousse and top with a chocolate disk that has coconut and almonds. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a short period.

Note: this dessert is very rich. You may want to share in the spirit of a good tea party.

I haven’t tried to make too many GF treats but it’s high on my list now. My sweetest cousin’s little girl was just diagnosed with Celiac and my dearest Aunt has already researched and experimented with many recipes that are delicious and GF to help her out. Naomi’s blog and those of the other gorgeous GF bakers out there are an invaluable resource.  We even have lovely members of The Daring Bakers such as Naomi who take our monthly challenges and transform them into Gluten Free masterpieces. I am always so impressed by their creativity and resourcefulness.

So thanks for letting me try this and join in- I’ve had a great time!

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