Nobody here but us servantless American cooks

Day: May 13, 2010

Recipe:  Queen of Sheeba Chocolate Cake + Icing

***Check me out!:  Go on YouTube and type in  "Julie and Julia Project- Queen of Sheeba Cake part 1" and follow it until part 5 for this section of the project!

                So, I have made sponge cakes before, the whipping of the egg whites and all of that stuff, but this recipe was a little more complicated because it involved doing multiple things at the same time.  First of all, it probably did not help with the fact that the recipe spanned the length of four pages, so I would have to keep flipping back and forth; and the fact that the print was so small, I kept having to bend down so it was a couple inches from my face, just to make sure that I was doing it right.  And, me being the obsessive -control -freak -when- it -comes -to -cooking person that I am, I would read something, begin doing it, and go back at least twice to make sure that I wasn't doing something wrong.

                So, I wanted to double the recipe so I could make two cakes, one for home and one for school, because my mom would have KILLED me if I didn't make some for her!  And, with the quantities of things that I was putting in, newly opened boxes were becoming empty fast.  I had to separate six eggs.  I mixed the yolks with the sugar and lots of butter, it is Julia Child after all!  Then came the egg whites.  Now, Julia had a couple paragraphs dedicated to preparing to whip the whites.  She stated over and over again to make sure that there was absolutely no remnants of oil or grease anywhere near the whites.  Then came the preparing of the bowl.  She said that you can pour some vinegar and salt into the bowl first and wipe it around the edges, so, trying to cook like Julia, I did.  She then mentioned the importance of the whites being room temperature, because if they were not then they would not mound fast.  She even gave tips on how to warm up the egg whites to room temperature.

                I then had to pulverize almonds with sugar and add in almond extract.  So I did that in the processor.  Thank God for food processors!

                Then, the melting of the chocolate.  Mind you, I am having to do all of this at the same time as the whipping of the whites!  I had to put the chocolate (semi sweet and unsweetened) into a saucepan with some coffee, or you could've used rum according to Julia (Oh my Julia!).  And I had to bring to a simmer, a couple of inches of water in a separate pan.  When it was simmering, take it off of the heat and put the sauce pan down into the water and practice patience while the chocolate melted.  Apparently she did not believe in microwaves!  Oh well, got to try it Julia-style!

                So when that was done, mix everything together and put it into pans that have been buttered and floured.  Apparently she also did not have Pam for Baking back then, oh well, again.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

                Took the cakes out of the oven and let them cool.  Then I had to take them out of the pan, this was the most nerve racking for me, because usually, this is where my cakes go wrong!  But, no, they came out just fine.  Then came the super hard part, having to let them sit for two hours before icing them.  It is one of the most challenging things, keeping two chocolate French cakes in the kitchen, untouched, with four hungry, sweet-toothed people in the house!  But, I sustained by going south of the border, meaning I went to Chipotle while they were cooling so I would be full!

                So, after the ordeal of waiting for two hours, then came the icing.  Again, I had to melt chocolate and coffee the same way that I did before.  When it was melted, I add in a LOT of butter (again, it's Julia) until the butter disappears.  I then put the sauce pan with all of the chocolate in it, into a pan of cold water and beat it until it is firm enough to spread.  Then came the fun part:  icing the cakes!

                Everything is finished; the cake is delicious...now if only it will last for more than a day in my house!

                  However, I do not believe that I could have endured all that Julie Powell went through, cooking all 524 recipes of Julia Child's, I applaud her beyond belief, what an ordeal she must have gone through.

                Julia Child recipes done!  Nothing burnt, didn't break the bank!  I would say that that was a job well done!

BON APPETITE!

"This will certify that the above work is completely original,"  Alyssa McKee, this is an original piece.

Nobody here but us servantless American cooks

Day:  May 10, 2010

Recipe:  Crepes

***Check me out!:  Go to YouTube type in "Julie and Julia Project- crepes part 1" and follow it till part 5 for this section of the project.

                Well, despite common analogy, crepes were pretty easy.  Based off of the book, I expected the first couple to work out okay, but then I was expecting it all to go to hell.  Either they would perish in smoke or become the permanent bottom of my skillet!  Julie Powell, after she mastered the art of making crepes, deemed herself the ‘crepe queen', I would have to say that, after my experience, I would have to deem myself the ‘crepe princess' or something along those lines.

                Steps to making the crepe:  mix the water, milk, eggs, butter, flour and salt, you have to then let it kinda ferment in the fridge for two hours.  I forgot that I need to do this, so I ended up making the crepes after I had already had dinner, and about around 8 o'clock.

                Anyway, then you have to put oil in a pan and brush it around the edges and put it over high heat until it starts smoking, that's right, smoking!  Then take a ladle, take the pan off of the heat and pour the gunk in the pan and coat the edges.  Then, you've got to put the pan back on the heat and shake it on the stove, giving it a few jerks back and forth to prevent it from sticking.  Then, here comes the tricky part:  flipping.  You have to take one rubber spatula to loosen the edges, then take a SECOND spatula in the other hand and lift and quickly flip.  This was the part that I was most afraid of, but, surprisingly, no tragedies!  Then, after both sides are done, you have to slide the concoction onto a wire rack to cool before putting it onto a plate.

                Now, here is my destruction story for my first Julia Child attempt.  After my first crepe, I was feeling pretty good.  After you take each crepe out of the pan, before you start a new one, you have to re-oil the pan.  So I took the same brush that I had used to grease the pan before I started.  I poured the oil in and started to brush.  Note to self:  DON"T put a pastry brush with PLASTIC bristles in a screaming hot pan!  That's right!  I melted our pastry brush!  But, I am happy to say that that was the most destructive thing that occurred during this trying time.

                After the crepes were done, we gave examples of different ways to plate them up.  Anyway is good really, you just have to make sure that you eat them while they are still warm.  First, we just folded one up and put powdered sugar on top:  amazing!  The second one, I got creative:  we had some cinnamon-apple pie filling in the cupboard.  I opened that up and put it inside and folded it up.  It was really gooey, but it was so good.  The next one, I decided to get fancy.  I put a stream of whipped cream in the middle and put some raspberries and blueberries inside, folded it up, and topped it off with more whipped cream and fruit.

                So, first attempt at a Julia Chile recipe, despite a melted pastry brush, all went well.  On to the next!

"This will certify that the above work is completely original,"  Alyssa McKee, this is an original piece.