November 24, 2017 – All Things Thankful –
Thanksgiving
I had
a group in for Thanksgiving. I did have
a momentary pause at the invitation stage because I haven’t cooked for more
than the two of us at Thanksgiving dinner for several years. I felt I might be
out of practice and not up to my standards.
But, entertaining is just like riding a bicycle – comes back to you when
you jump in and extend the invitation.
The last few years on
Thanksgiving, I worked in the restaurant industry. As anyone who works for an entity that serves
Thanksgiving dinner to the public, you know it is an “all-hands-on-deck” day
with long, grueling hours. I remember at
the end of last Thanksgiving after being on my feet and rushing here and there all
day I wasn’t actually interested in food.
But, invited by management at the end of business to eat, all I wanted was a
piece of pie. I chose my piece of pie and got off my feet for five minutes.
So, this year I
dusted off my repertoire of recipes and me, the self-challenging type that I
am, I decided to try two new recipes that have been on my “let’s try” list for
years, i.e., Brioche a Téte and Tiramisù.
The recipes are
probably copyrighted, so I am not going to set them out here. The Tiramisù is discussed in great detail in
the Cook’s Illustrated magazine, Fall Entertaining 2008 magazine. Entitled, Perfecting Tiramisù, pages
60 and 61.
I had trepidations
about the Tiramisù as I have only opted to have it in a restaurant a few times
over the years. Usually it is offered at upscale restaurants and I am always
too full from my scrumptious main dish to attempt a rich dessert.
There is a wonderful
scene in Sleepless in Seattle where Rob Reiner tells Tom Hanks he’d find out
about Tiramisù which I find amusing.
Next time you watch that movie – look for it or just go to the following
for the script of that scene:
Now that you have had
your laugh or been inspired – back to the recipe. I followed the directions
exactly. I opted for the “without raw eggs”
step. I guess I’ve always been on the
cautious side when it comes to eggs and mayonnaise.
I felt the amount of
liquid required to dip the ladyfingers was excessive. [As an afterthought, I could
have strained it and drank it over ice as serious pick-me-up.]
As the recipe indicates, after 40 batches of tiramisu, the Cook’s staff’s
favorite was “dark rum” and I used Meyers dark rum. In the future, I will “brush” the liquid on
them – top and bottom - as I think it will be easier. I also used a square
dish because I find the look of an oblong dish “tacky” for entertaining. I merely ended up with a taller version. I
made it Wednesday afternoon, with the Dutch processed cocoa powder dusted on
the top. The next morning I grated dark chocolate over the top. I still got the 10-12 servings and I served it
right from the refrigerator. [Another
idea would be small, individual serving bowls would be a lovely take.]
What was wrong with
it? - Absolutely nothing! I was stunned by the taste and creaminess. My only issue – how do you neatly get it out
of the dish? I heard “groans” of
delight up and down my table which made my heart sing. I waited until everyone else had tasted it
before I did - smart move on my part as
I enjoyed the moment. Trust me, it is time consuming and the ingredients a bit
pricey; but, you will definitely please your guests.
The other recipe I
tried was from Fine Cooking – True brioche:
The instructions are
extensive and I suggest you read them carefully. Lucky me, I had purchased individual ovenproof
paper molds years ago and they have been moved from cabinet to cabinet over
time and I did locate them finally. You can
order them at the following site: I
think I ordered mine from King Arthur
years ago.
Mine are the small
size – very efficient – just the right size for a dinner roll.
I did order a standup
mixer for this recipe, and I must admit I went too low pricewise and my new
mixer is really not up to the thickness or weight of this bread dough. I did get it accomplished and I need to warn
you – this is a long process. You have
two rises of the dough and then the proofing of the rolls in the molds. Shaping the dough to get them into the molds
was “challenging” for me and I consulted the wonderful diagram in the 75th
Anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking, Cookbook by Rombaurer, Becker and Becker.
[Next time I will do
it the following way – refrigerate the dough, and then roll them. I think the “tete”
or heads will look better.
What is the point of
a brioche without the “head” or bump on the top? Trust me – mine were
authentically “rustic”. Possibly, being non-uniform added to the charm or possibly
proved I had made them and not bought them.
However, as rustic as they were, I thought they tasted fabulous –
buttery. Just the “sniff” alone is worth
making them.
I opted to bake them
the day before and then warm them up in an oven the next day. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have refrigerated them and baked
them fresh on Thanksgiving Day. Warming
them up – dried them out. I have learned
from my error. Also, the refrigerated dough I am certain will be easier to
handle.
The recipe netted way
more than 16 rolls. I ended up with 24 and they were spilling out of the
molds. Doing more research – after the
fact – I find that punched down, shaped rolls should fill the pans no more than
1/3 full in order that they look nice.
This will be a do
again – with some alteration - refrigerating the dough overnight, then fashioning and baking them just before the guests arrive.
Luckily my self-imposed
challenges thankfully came to fruition instead of failure. It’s nice to know I
can still cook for a crowd even when I am out of practice!
I am most thankful that I had the most appreciative guests who enjoyed themselves.
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