Candied Ginger

Ginger makes me happy,

Ginger makes me smile,

Ginger every way and day,

Full of spice and guile.

I love ginger. It all started with ginger ale, then pickled ginger with sushi. Then I discovered ginger beer (which is a lovely non-alcoholic beverage), then I turned 21 and discovered that gin goes particularly well with all non-alcoholic ginger beverages. When I am at a loss and at a bar, gin and ginger ale it is. 

So when I went to Whole Foods about a month ago and impulsively picked up a package of candied ginger, it was pretty clear I would enjoy the confection.

Here's what I didn't expect: I could not stop dipping into the bag for a tiny treat...even after breakfast I sometimes grabbed a piece while loading my bowl and spoon into the dishwasher. 

It's spicy, it's sweet, it's crunchy on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside (apparently the most addicting texture...just think about oreos!). 

Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention that ginger has a laundry list of health benefits. It's good for stomach problems/nausea, is anti-inflammatory, and has immune-boosting properties. (Obviously these things are secondary to the deliciousness of candy!).

To make this treat at home, I turned to the teachings of food alchemist and chemist Alton Brown. You start by boiling the ginger alone until tender, then drain (saving the cooking liquid) and return to the pot with an equal weight of sugar and a bit of liquid. Dissolve the sugar, boil off the water, and wham bam alacazam out of a ginger flavored sky...

You think it's going to caramelize. It really does look like the beginning of caramel. But somehow, crystals start and once they start they spread. Soon the whole mess is white and snowy and ready to dry into crisp, sweet bites.

Candied Ginger

Yield: as much as you like! Plus some great byproducts*

Ingredients: 

• Ginger Root (1 lb is good if you can think to buy that much), sliced into 1/8 inch coins
• Water
• Granulated Sugar (aprox 1 lb for each lb of ginger)

Method:

1. Bring about 5 cups of water to a boil for every pound of ginger (it's going to boil for a while, so enough to cover and then some). Add the ginger and cook for 35 minutes or until a fork can pierce through as it would a cooked carrot.
2. Meanwhile, put foil on a baking sheet and lay a rack over. Spray lightly with non-stick spray.
3. Drain the ginger, saving the cooking liquid. Weigh the ginger and add an equal weight of sugar, then return to the pot and add a few tablespoons of cooking liquid (per pound--get the idea?).
4. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to medium/medium low until the water has evaporated and crystals form, 20-30 minutes. Transfer the ginger to the prepared rack, separate the pieces, and allow to cool.
5. Store in an airtight container with a paper towel. Keeps well, though it won't last in this house!

*Byproducts of candying ginger:

P.S. The cooking liquid from the ginger is incredibly strong ginger "tea" concentrate...try adding some to cold water, black tea, or mixing with hot water and honey (and rum? or gin? for a hot ginger toddy!). It's super strong, so a little goes a long way!

P.P.S. The sugar that falls off the pieces is also delicious-in tea or coffee, on cookies or muffins, etc.

Cocoa Candied Almonds

This story starts at costco, as all good stories do. They were out of the roasted, salted almonds in the two pound box, so...
My dad bought the 3 pound bag of raw almonds.

Figuring we could bake with them, or roast them ourselves, or whatnot.

This is dangerous. We ate more than a pound in probably 2 weeks, and there are 3 of us. And I'm sure I ate more than a third of that, too.

They're sweet and salty, crunchy, a treat but still a snack, and eminently grabbable on a pass through the kitchen.

All it takes is a little bit of aggressive whipping of egg whites and sugar to make the crunchy meringue that will shield the nuts in a protective, chocolaty armor. Cocoa powder adds that somethin'-somethin' and mm mm good factor. Joy adds a hint of cayenne, which you can do, but we don't eat spicy things at home so I added a bit of cinnamon instead.

So run to your nearest bulk nuts seller (ewwwww) and make these in your kitchen today. They will last longer than cookies, but not that much longer. They will sustain the 3pm hunger crash. They will satisfy the chocolate cravings.

[You know they say that if you're craving chocolate, your body really wants the fat from the cocoa butter, and that you can "satisfy" that craving with peanut butter? Um, I think these are an even better option.]

These almonds make a great World Cup snack, too!

Cocoa Candied Almonds
Yield: a two week supply for 3 ravenous people

Ingredients:

• about 3 cups raw almonds (I used a bit more, probably 4 cups, and there was PLENTY of meringue for all of them)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used dutch process, because guess what? We have a costco thing of that too.)
• a pinch of cayenne or cinnamon, according to your tastes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. [I forgot to do this step, and they turned out great, so if you don't have time, skip this:] Roast almonds on a baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the meringue.
3. Put butter in a rimmed baking sheet (lining with foil makes for easy cleanup later) and melt in the oven for 5-7 minutes, making sure that the milk solids don't burn. Remove and set aside.
4. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl and with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until white, glossy, and almost at stiff peaks.
5. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, cocoa powder, and spice, and mix again (slowly at first) to combine.
6. Add the almonds and stir to coat evenly. Spread in the baking sheet with the melted butter in an even layer. 
7. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the coating has darkened in color and is crisp and dry. Remove and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook (love.)

Gibassié et Truffles au Chocolat

Another fun cooking class with Hélène!

This time we made Gibassié, a Provençal dessert traditional to Christmas.

There's a ton of tradition surrounding the Christmas meals and table decorations in Provence: there are three meals, at the second they eat a little bit of each of thirteen desserts, and  there are three candles and three tablecloths, one of which is removed/blown out after each meal, so by the last one there is one candle lit and one tablecloth.

Gibassié is one of the thirteen desserts, and it's a crumbly cookie (sort of like a hard scone) in a circle with the rays of the sun patterning the top.

It's a sort of sable dough made with star anise, orange blossom water, and olive oil, and it is so delicious. A ton of flavors that go well together, and I don't even usually like anise.

The other recipe we made is also traditional to Christmas: chocolate truffles. Kids love to make these, since there's plenty of rolling and coating involved.

You can make truffles by simply making a stiff ganache, but here there's an egg yolk, added sugar, and butter (we also added some Grand Marnier), which does not decrease the chocolate flavor (there's still a ton of chocolate) but does add a lovely soft texture and butteriness.

Ours was a bit grainy, but I think sifting the powdered sugar as we gradually added it would have helped with that, so I've changed the recipe accordingly.

Enjoy a Provençal Christmas, in July!

Gibassié

Ingredients:

• 500 g flour
• 150 g granulated sugar
• 15 cL (what is this system? That means half a cup plus two tablespoons) olive oil, plus more if needed
• 3-4 tablespoons orange blossom water
• 3-4 tablespoons star anise seeds

Method:

1. Mix the flour and sugar. Add the orange blossom water and olive oil and mix.
2. Add the anise seeds, mix. The dough should start to come together like a sable cookie, if not, add some more orange blossom water. Then some more oil, adding both bit by bit until the dough just comes together.
3. Form into a disk, and pierce the top like rays of sun into as many pieces as you have people who will be eating.
4. Bake at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) for 20 minutes. Let cool, then cut on the rays (It will crumble. Let it.).

Truffles au Chocolat

Ingredients:

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 50 g butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 60 g icing/confectioners/powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon alcohol (optional)
• 125 g (about) cocoa powder, for rolling

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate over low heat in a single layer
2. Add the butter, egg yolk, and cream, stirring to combine. Then, add the sugar, sifting into the bowl and mixing as you go to avoid lumps. Add alcohol and stir.
3. Refrigerate filling for 2 hours.
4. Roll into little balls, then roll in the cocoa powder (a "parisian scoop," or tiny melon baller, works great for this).

Recipes courtesy of Hélène Biesse.

Peanut Butter Cup Truffles

It's the end of the the school year...and for me, the end of high school. And that means thanking the people who have been there for the whole thing.

These were for my friend, as a belated birthday present. Happy Birthday Lindsey!!

Let me put this out there right now.
Peanut butter. Chocolate. Truffle.

Did you just feel super excited in your taste buds? I did. (P.S. My mom calls that "ZING" because she gets that feeling when she smells Celestial Seasonings Zinger Teas)

These are delicious. Amazing. Transcendent. So so so much better than Reece's, but incredibly familiar at the same time.

ANDDDD...

I learned to temper chocolate! Turns out it's not as fussy as I expected, and I felt remarkably at ease, compared to that time I made chocolate cookies and the chocolate seized up in the microwave.

I used Nestle chocolate for the coating on these truffles. None of that fancy pants business.

But I did use bars, which makes the whole thing work a lot better. They put stuff in chocolate chips so they stay melty in your chocolate chip cookies for longer. And while that is extraordinarily desirable when one is making chocolate chip cookies and doesn't make a whole lot of difference if you're making brownies, it does mess with the tempering process.

Tempering is important because it makes the chocolate able to fully re-solidify so you don't have to refrigerate it after you have melted it. If you don't want to take the trouble (it does take some time, especially if you've never tempered chocolate before), just keep the truffles in the refrigerator.

Have at it! Conquor your cooking fears!

Peanut Butter Cup Truffles
Yield: about 18 truffles

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4.5 ounces) creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 plus 1/8 cups (2.5 ounces) powdered sugar
8 ounces chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and semisweet, but milk would be delicious too!)

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Heat until completely melted and starting to bubble a little, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Add the powdered sugar a ¼ cup at a time (sift if it's clumpy), stirring until completely combined with the peanut butter mixture after each addition. Let cool, then pop in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
2. Scoop portions of the peanut butter mixture (put it back in the fridge if it gets too soft) and roll into balls. Set on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and put in the freezer while you prepare the tempered chocolate.
3. Temper chocolate. Feel the glory. Or don't and just melt it in the microwave or a double boiler.
4. Dip peanut butter insides in chocolate, completely coating. (I didn't get the coating over everything on some of them and they dripped peanut butter grease...not attractive). Let set on the baking sheet at room temperature if you've tempered your chocolate or in the fridge if not.
5. Eat and enjoy!

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker.