![]() Ever since the first time I whipped my own fresh whipped cream, I have kept my gaze obcessively glued to it, in dreaded fear of over-whipping and having it turn into butter. The horror! Imagine! And so to this day I anxiously sweat that critical make or break, stiff peak to useless butter, moment. But wait...I can turn cream into butter? Thus making my own butter? And that easily? Well, yes, yes, and yes. I finally gave it a try this week, gleefully letting my mixer plow right through from beautiful lofty whipped cream to deflated heavier looking cream-paste to cheerful little golden globules of butter separating from ivory buttermilk. And all in about ten minutes. The transformation was kind of thrilling, and the result revelatory. A pint of heavy cream yielded about 6.5 ounces of butter and a cup and a half of buttermilk. Pound for pound this is will end up being a bit more costly than store-bought. However, I found the taste superior and just fresher all around, and it didn't have the "natural flavorings" that I just noticed on the ingredient list of my butter package. I cannot wait to try it with the outstanding, abundantly flavorful, local cream from farmers at the markets. There are also plenty of times when I have bought heavy cream for a recipe, or had extra whipped cream left over from a dinner, and wish I had used it to whip up some butter, rather than having it sit in my refrigerator waiting for another recipe to come up. This is a remarkably easy process and tremendously satisfying. Of all of the challenging and technical cooking projects I have attempted it is amazing that I haven't tried this before, as it is most definitely simpler than most. Give it a try. Slip some on the table at your next gathering. "Oh that? I just whipped that up." (more…) | ||||||||||||||||
![]() I have had a few amazing meals at an outstanding humble restaurant, The Moosse Cafe, in Mendocino, CA. The menu is a wonderful array of comforting classics, but so carefully prepared with impeccable ingredients you feel you are meeting them for the first time. This was certainly the case with their legendary dark chocolate pudding. Dense and rich and not too sweet, it was perfect. But also...it was pudding. Not custard or mousse, nor crème nor bruléed. With all of the frothy, eggy, well-tempered desserts my french culinary background has given me, I am in love with the honest simplicity of pudding right now. I even love the brief snap of the skin on top of the bowl as my spoon first dives in. I brought this pudding recently to a dinner party and it was a lick-the-plate-clean hit. Easy to transport and serve, in small ramekins (keep the portions small, as it is a rich one), accompanied by a bowl of whipped cream, and a bowl of an irresistible crunchy toasted hazelnut, shaved chocolate and sea salt topping. This would also be festive and easy to set up on a holiday soiree buffet. (psst...and all made in advance.) Fa-la-la-la-la.
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