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Well, maybe not quite sugar plums. But the bulk of today has been devoted to candy-making and cooking. Let me start at the beginning.
Actually, the first item on the morning's agenda was a Coffee Shop Bike Ride with my father. The coffee shop we visited this morning was literally three doors down from one coffeeshop, and two doors down from another coffeeshop. It was also around the corner from the Seattle Art Museum, and was chock-full of folk art from around the world. I find that sort of decor a little overwhelming, but the tile floor, comfortable seating, and friendly owner were pretty nice. It was also fun to go past the Lusty Lady and read the signboard (Kiss Me Under the Cameltoe...*snicker*).
From the coffeeshop, I headed through downtown Seattle and along Westlake Ave. over to the Fremont PCC. [I might actually go back there tomorrow as well, from the looks of things - Christmas dinner shopping and all that.]. I picked up a few crucial ingredients there, including a five-pound bag of satsumas (a five-pound box was $10, whereas a five-pound bag was $5, interestingly). Then I rode on over to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
annikusrex's house for the big project of the day, candy-making.
You may or may not recall last year's chocolate-making adventures. If you need to refresh your memory with some compelling visuals, check here and you won't be disappointed.
First up on the agenda were some chocolate-stuffed figs. They are really just amazing. The only challenge is getting the ganache into the figs. We attempted various permutations of pastry bags and a spritzer cookie press, to no avail. The ganache was too hard for the pastry bag and too soft for the spritzer cookie press (it spritzed out of the wrong side of the plunger thingy). Finally, MW came up with an ingenious solution; he found a small syringe that worked fantastically. I just can't believe I hadn't thought of that sooner myself. With the help of that handy little tool, we plumped the figs full of chocolate.
While MW and I were wrestling with that project, AKW also got some coconut meringue cookies going.
Then it was time to temper some chocolate. I need to keep working on my chocolate-tempering procedure. This time around, we used a crockpot, but I suspect that a more ideal system would incorporate water baths maintained at just the right temperature. Tempering chocolate involves melting the chocolate, and then heating it up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (but don't let it get above 120 degrees, or you will not be pleased with the outcome!). Then the chocolate must cool down to somewhere between 82-84 degrees, at which point it must be heated yet again to somewhere between 88-90 degrees. Well-tempered chocolate produces that crisp, thin shell that so nicely holds and accents a delicious chocolate center.
Once the chocolate got to just about the right temperature range, we began to dip things in it. AKW's mom has small forks and scoops that are especially for dipping chocolates; the centers are dipped, and then excess chocolate must be shaken off, and then the outcome is set on parchment paper to harden. The whole process is time-consuming more than anything else. We dipped the espresso centers, and a few satsuma pieces, and some dried apricots, a couple of pretzels, some gourmet marshmallows, and the chocolate-stuffed figs.
And when all that was said and done, we made peanut brittle. As K put it, store-bought peanut brittle tastes nothing like the homemade stuff. To make it, you boil a bit of water and add some sugar (this is a loose paraphrase of the Joy of Cooking method; consult it for exact ingredients and the minor things I've left out). Then you add some corn syrup, because the sugar alone just isn't enough. Then you add some raw spanish peanuts, and heat the mixture through all of the various stages of amusing sugar chemistry (soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, then...HARD CRACK! YESSSSSS!). Once you have reached the pinnacle of amusing sugar chemistry, it's time to cool things down again. K has a large, marble slab that is just perfect for the job. AKW buttered it up, and then K poured out the peanut brittle acrost the top of it. We used tongs to pull and stretch out the brittle until it cooled to the point where our efforts caused it to snap. And voila, peanut brittle. I'll never forget the year we made hazelnut brittle and painstakingly peeled the hazelnuts by hand.
I then packed up a few treats, and headed home to cook dinner with my dad. We made pasta with a creamy, cheesy mushroom sauce, and served it up with soft-boiled eggs and salad. Dessert consisted of satsumas and candy.
Tomorrow is another big day. I'll meet up with CD at Herkimer Coffee, and with another friend at Fuel Coffee.sytharin and D arrive in the evening, then there will be the Christmas hubbub, and then we'll head off to my grandpa's house for the following evening.
Actually, the first item on the morning's agenda was a Coffee Shop Bike Ride with my father. The coffee shop we visited this morning was literally three doors down from one coffeeshop, and two doors down from another coffeeshop. It was also around the corner from the Seattle Art Museum, and was chock-full of folk art from around the world. I find that sort of decor a little overwhelming, but the tile floor, comfortable seating, and friendly owner were pretty nice. It was also fun to go past the Lusty Lady and read the signboard (Kiss Me Under the Cameltoe...*snicker*).
From the coffeeshop, I headed through downtown Seattle and along Westlake Ave. over to the Fremont PCC. [I might actually go back there tomorrow as well, from the looks of things - Christmas dinner shopping and all that.]. I picked up a few crucial ingredients there, including a five-pound bag of satsumas (a five-pound box was $10, whereas a five-pound bag was $5, interestingly). Then I rode on over to
annikusrex's house for the big project of the day, candy-making.You may or may not recall last year's chocolate-making adventures. If you need to refresh your memory with some compelling visuals, check here and you won't be disappointed.
First up on the agenda were some chocolate-stuffed figs. They are really just amazing. The only challenge is getting the ganache into the figs. We attempted various permutations of pastry bags and a spritzer cookie press, to no avail. The ganache was too hard for the pastry bag and too soft for the spritzer cookie press (it spritzed out of the wrong side of the plunger thingy). Finally, MW came up with an ingenious solution; he found a small syringe that worked fantastically. I just can't believe I hadn't thought of that sooner myself. With the help of that handy little tool, we plumped the figs full of chocolate.
While MW and I were wrestling with that project, AKW also got some coconut meringue cookies going.
Then it was time to temper some chocolate. I need to keep working on my chocolate-tempering procedure. This time around, we used a crockpot, but I suspect that a more ideal system would incorporate water baths maintained at just the right temperature. Tempering chocolate involves melting the chocolate, and then heating it up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (but don't let it get above 120 degrees, or you will not be pleased with the outcome!). Then the chocolate must cool down to somewhere between 82-84 degrees, at which point it must be heated yet again to somewhere between 88-90 degrees. Well-tempered chocolate produces that crisp, thin shell that so nicely holds and accents a delicious chocolate center.
Once the chocolate got to just about the right temperature range, we began to dip things in it. AKW's mom has small forks and scoops that are especially for dipping chocolates; the centers are dipped, and then excess chocolate must be shaken off, and then the outcome is set on parchment paper to harden. The whole process is time-consuming more than anything else. We dipped the espresso centers, and a few satsuma pieces, and some dried apricots, a couple of pretzels, some gourmet marshmallows, and the chocolate-stuffed figs.
And when all that was said and done, we made peanut brittle. As K put it, store-bought peanut brittle tastes nothing like the homemade stuff. To make it, you boil a bit of water and add some sugar (this is a loose paraphrase of the Joy of Cooking method; consult it for exact ingredients and the minor things I've left out). Then you add some corn syrup, because the sugar alone just isn't enough. Then you add some raw spanish peanuts, and heat the mixture through all of the various stages of amusing sugar chemistry (soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, then...HARD CRACK! YESSSSSS!). Once you have reached the pinnacle of amusing sugar chemistry, it's time to cool things down again. K has a large, marble slab that is just perfect for the job. AKW buttered it up, and then K poured out the peanut brittle acrost the top of it. We used tongs to pull and stretch out the brittle until it cooled to the point where our efforts caused it to snap. And voila, peanut brittle. I'll never forget the year we made hazelnut brittle and painstakingly peeled the hazelnuts by hand.
I then packed up a few treats, and headed home to cook dinner with my dad. We made pasta with a creamy, cheesy mushroom sauce, and served it up with soft-boiled eggs and salad. Dessert consisted of satsumas and candy.
Tomorrow is another big day. I'll meet up with CD at Herkimer Coffee, and with another friend at Fuel Coffee.
sytharin and D arrive in the evening, then there will be the Christmas hubbub, and then we'll head off to my grandpa's house for the following evening.
