Daring Bakers' September Challenge - Vols-au-Vent With Michel Richard's Puff Pastry Dough!!!

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

After being gone for 2 months, and another half a month to recover from jet lag and a horrible cough... I'm FINALLY back to participate in my Daring Bakers Challenge!!! And what do you know, when you have missed out so much, this is what you get - PUFF PASTRY DOUGH!!! (yikes)

This is NOT something I have on my "wish to try" list. There's always the convenience of going to the frozen isle in the grocery store and just pick it up. Plus, the fact that you have to wrap the whole chunk of butter in the dough, and making sure the butter doesn't get too soft or it'd oozed out, and folding the dough "this way and that way" for X amount of times --- ai-ya-ya...definitely not for the lazy person that I am, and not for someone who, without fail, get distracted by the kids every 5 minutes ONLY WHEN I'm cooking/baking, cos' by the end I'd really be Huffing and PUFFING on the dough! :P

However, I AM A DARING BAKER! :P (LOL) and a procrastinator, in case you forgot. So I didn't start until 2 days before the dateline. I didn't think much about what I was gonna fill them with. Instead I was worrying about how will the puff pastry turn out! :P

Anyhow, I started with whacking the sticks of butter down, before I prepare the dough, so that the butter can stay cool in the fridge while I prepare the dough. However, I have to warn you that, if you have your kids' pet fishes' bowl(s) sitting on your kitchen counter top, like ME...do give them a warning that you'll be smacking something on the counter top, so that they don't get a heart attack and die. Not to worry...no fish were harm in the process of making this puff pastry...just 3 fishes puffing and huffing out of fear of the crazy mom with a giant rolling pin whacking the hell out of the butter! I did thought about moving them away...but by the time I realized they (especially the 2 gold fish) were "scurrying" about in the bowl, I was almost done with the butter! I think the beta could careless!

The frighten fishes!

I have to say, I was surprise how easy the dough was to work with! It doesn't tear, it just stretches wherever you want it to go! :)

Now, if you're short like me and has a counter top for the average Americans, you'd need your kid's step stool to roll this dough!

The good old Ikea step stool!

I was really happy when none of the butter oozed out in between the turns. I was planning on having it for dinner, so time was sorta short. Occasionally, instead of placing the dough in the fridge in between turns, I've put it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes --- and the dough was still soft and really nice to work with. When it came to splitting the dough, I was so excited to see the layers actually forming... :)

According to the instruction, right before you place the cut out doughs into the preheated oven, you should place a silicon baking mat or parchment on top of the doughs to help even rising. That was what I did. However, mine was a mess! See how my dough was D-R-A-G-E-D along as I tried to lift up the top mat??!!! *sigh*


Thank goodness I still had left over dough in the fridge, and I still had time to go on the DB forum to ask for help. Steph was quick to come to the rescue --- my oven was probably not hot enough. Hmm....this is a wonderful excuse for me to get a oven thermometer! ;P I also managed to skim through some other members' Q&A. And I came across Audax's suggestion on preheating the oven 20 degrees hotter than what it calls for in the recipe, as the dough needed the hot temperature to create the steam to puff the layers.

I did managed to salvage one decent looking Vols-au-Vent shell for the photo taking purpose. I made scrambled eggs with chives and bacon for the filling, and serve with a side of salad. That was our dinner.

Then yesterday afternoon, I rolled out my left over dough. This time, I raised the oven temperature to 420F. I did leave the mat sitting on top of the dough longer than the 15 minutes as suggested in the recipe. I waited until the dough started to brown lightly, only then I carefully remove the mat. However, for some reason, I had forgotten to placed the cut rings on top of the base to create the well for the fillings!!!! What an idiot!!! *shaking my head*

Oh well, so this morning we had our Vols-au-Vent (without a well) with brie and seasoned lox, and the other also with brie, with marmalade (Yesmin and I gobbled it down before I could take a photo! :P).

The vols-au-vent without the well!! : |

They really filled us up, so, even though I made a dessert Vols-au-Vent with mascarpone and blackberries on a bed of raspberry sauce, we haven't actually tried it YET. None of us could put another bite in, and I didn't wanna keep it till dinner as the pastry might get soggy...so I tried calling my neighbor :) Glad she was home. We shall be trying ours tomorrow night.

Mascarpone with Blackberries and raspberry sauce... you can't really see the base of the vols-au-vent here, but there's the BIG ring that I had forgotten to place on top of the base before baking! :P

So, in case you are interested in giving a try on puff pastry, click HERE for the recipe. I would encourage you to give it a try, because, there's a BIG difference between the TASTE of the homemade puff pastry, and the store bought ones!!

Thanks Steph, for this challenge that I NEVER thought I could achieve.

Highlights of Our Trip Home - Malaysia

Finally... some highlights of our trip back home to Malaysia this past summer. There are too many photos to be posted here, visit HERE for the rest of them. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as WE did! :)



I will upload the food photos soon. :)

One of the Most Important Job

Yesterday was the first day of school. I can't believe she's going into 3rd grade!!! Her 2nd grade teacher was looping up with the class, so it wasn't like we didn't know who to expect this time. But it was excited to see who was gonna be staying and leaving (there was a big reshuffling of students in the school due to many reasons).

However, the job I wanna talk about here isn't the teacher. We all know how IMPORTANT a teacher's job can be, and we treasure all the teachers out there, no doubt. This OTHER important job I'm speaking of is the BUS DRIVER ~ who very day fetches our kids back and forth. Really, so often we forget how important their job is, and being a school bus driver, isn't just busing these kids to and back from school...it's more than that!

You'd know what I mean if you have chaperon a field trip. The noise and the behavior of these kids can sometimes be extremely overwhelming! We've had 2 previous bus drivers who hardly ever smile at you, who'd honk REAL loud and fierce because the 1st time my daughter, then in kindergarten, was dropped across the street, and I DID NOT know that I had to wait for the bus driver to make sure both sides are clear before we are allowed to cross. I know they meant well for the safety, but if you had looked at HER face, and how LOUD she had honked at us, you too would be scared!

Anyway, last year we had this AMAZING bus driver name Dee Dee. She's friendly, she's nice, she drives safely, and she gives the kids warnings when needed. Every morning, she greets the kids when they get on the bus, and say goodbyes when they get off. Sometimes she'd even chat with them about their day, their siblings...etc!!! She even keeps 2 books, like I Spy, or Where's Waldo type of books, for the kids to read in the bus, if they wanted to (what a great idea, isn't it??)! And of course, on those special occasions, she'd have a bag of candy/cookies for each kid & their sibling, whether or not, the sibling(s) is on the bus too.

So, at the end of last year, I had asked her if she could possibly bus our route again? Many parents have had the same question for her :) She told me that it is unlikely, since our route is the "popular" route, for whatever reason. Plus, the way they pick the routes are by seniority, so she's very unlikely gonna be busing our neighborhood.

However, yesterday morning, when we waited for the bus to arrive...guess who was driving the bus??!!! Yeahhhh!!! It's Dee Dee!!! =D You could tell how happy all the parents at the bus stop were!!!



Thank you Dee Dee and we LOVE you!!! :)

The Golden Years

Not long after our return from Malaysia (yes, I still haven't blog about that trip...in fact I have SO MANY things that are backdated!!), a friend told me that she and her sister-in-law were planning a 50th Anniversary for her in-laws. She later asked me if I could make a cake! You see, I'm not a professional baker. I'm still experimenting. I'm ok with baking for my family and experimenting, but when someone PLACES an order with me, that's A LOT of pressure! Anyway, I said yes! (Which I later question myself if I was just too excited and still haven't overcome the jet lag??! :P )




So, I brought some magazines over for her to look at, to chose the design, talk about the flavor, size..etc. She also came over to my house, and that's when she saw my Yellow cake (the cake I submitted for the State Fair competition), and she liked that design. She needed the cake for 60 people. She called up some local bakery and asked what size would best feed that number of people. They told her a 12" and a 9". Yikkeess...I have never made any cake bigger than a 9"!!! I have covered a 12" dummy cake for the Oregon State Fair cake decorating competition. But THAT was a Styrofoam! I didn't have to worry about a Styrofoam! Nevertheless, I figured this is a great opportunity for me...and I better not screw up!

I broke down the days into making this cake. There was the chocolate cake for the 12" cake and butter/vanilla cake for the top. They are both filled with raspberry buttercream, and covered with fondant. Originally, the number "50" was supposed to be upright. I place toothpick under the numbers to help them stand. As I was placing the other decorated pieces, the number 5 started to "cracked"!!! *sigh* I knew I had no time to make another "5" (gum paste might have worked better in this case), so I had no choice but to lay them down F-L-A-T! :( The design also included fondant roses, which I'm pretty pleased with, but still need to work on placing them on a toothpick/wire stem and working on the calyx. I hand painted the other little golden flowers, the numbers and the pearls with petal dust.

When the cake was done...all I have left to worry about was whether it will stay in one piece all the way until they cut the cake, and if they liked the taste of the cake! It was difficult for me to be the judge...cos' 1st of all, I always set higher expectations for myself...2nd, I don't like to eat cakes...I liked the buttercream I made, that I know (it was a meringue buttercream), but cake?! It was hard for me to judge...I'm not a cake person, I only like to make them for others, I'm VERY picky when it comes to cakes. I like desserts and pastry, but I don't really have a sweet tooth...so, that makes me even pickier!!! :P

Anyhow, I was nervous the whole night....until I saw her e-mail giving her thumbs up! *phew* :) I'm so grateful for A to give me this opportunity.

Apple Pie --- BAR!!!

I came across this recipe while reading the Food & Wine magazine one day. How wonderful is that?? Instead of an apple pie, you could have an apple pie BAR (by Cathy Odson)! ;) I've tried it on last year's July 4th pot luck with our neighbors. I made a chocolate caramel sauce and brought vanilla ice-cream along, and it was a hit! :)

Tomorrow, my neighbor's son will be leaving for college in California. He's been an awesome kid to have around. Few days after we first moved in, there was a knock on my door. I opened the door, and there he was, 10 years old, about my height (5ft 2), introducing himself and handed me a business card, telling me that if we needed help with the lawn, give him a call!!! How cute is that??

Now, he's 6ft 3". He takes care of our lawn whenever we are away for a long time. And whenever I bake something, he and his brother never complain about being the guinea pigs. I've asked his mom of all the things they have tried from me,what's his favorite? She told me he liked the apple pie bars the most. So, here it is, apple pie bar with chocolate caramel sauce with vanilla ice-cream. We wish him the BEST on this exciting journey.


Click here for the Apple pie bar. Below is the Chocolate Caramel Sauce by Julie Hasson.

Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Makes 1 ½ Cup

Recipe from 125 Best Chocolate Chip recipes by Julie Hasson

¼ C Unsalted butter

¾ C packed light brown sugar

1/3 C corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

1/3 C Whipping cream (35%)

1/3 C semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, syrup and salt. Increase heat to medium-high, bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, it will look like bubbling lava. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat.

2. Whisk in cream. Add chocolate chips, whisking until smooth. The sauce will look as if it is separating, but will smooth out after a minute or so of whisking. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Tips:

For fondue, serve this warm with fruits, small cookies and cake cubes.

Store in covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Variation:

Omit chocolate chips for caramel sauce. Use in recipes that call for caramel sauce.

We're Back!!! =)

It's been a while since my last post (no counting the MIA one of course). The kids and I have been away since June 24. We went back home to Malaysia for the Summer!!! We just got back 3 days ago...and I am still recovering from the 15 hour time difference... I go to bed at midnight-1 a.m. and wake up at 4-ish! *sigh* I need a nap SOON :P I will be blogging about the trip soon, I hope! :P

Anyway, after our long flight back home the past Wednesday, a friend of ours was really kind to pick us up from the airport, even though it was closed to midnight. And when we opened the front door, this is what we saw...


Our neighbors have made a banner for us! How sweet is that?! They even got us some milk, cereal, bread, and fruits ready!!! You can't ask for a better neighbor than this! We're so blessed!

MIA

Haven't been posting since June.... opppsss!!! I'm still here, I'm still around....but we've been away from home. The kids and I have came back to Malaysia for the Summer (Nd joined us in mid-July). We've been here for almost 7 weeks!!!! It's wonderful to see the family and friends, and eat "THE FOOD" that we so missed. However, I am ready to go back to my own bed, to my berries picking, and the other routine. I know we will miss everyone back here in Malaysia, and all the food...but, like the saying goes "Home sweet home" --- no matter where it is.

So, until then, I'll see you all again soon, and I'll be blogging about the trip. =) Have a great Summer while the Sun is still shining! :)