Daring Bakers: Vols-au-Vent

It’s that time again! 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. There were many, many creative and interesting twists on this recipe out there in Daring Bakersville this month. Check out the blogroll to see some of what was made.

This was such a fun challenge. From what I’ve read in the Daring Bakers forums, many people were as surprised as I was to find out that puff pastry is actually quite easy and not that time-consuming. The process really only takes 10 minutes start to finish, but because there is resting and chilling involved, you have to commit a few hours to being around the house. Luckily, time stuck in the house is easy to come by when you are a full-time student with readings coming out of your ears, half-written papers lying around, and midterms to study for. Student or not,  I will only be buying puff pastry in a pinch from here on out. Making it yourself is much cheaper and you get the added bonus of knowing how your food was made and what was put into it.

I kept it simple with this challenge and went with a very traditional mushroom filling for my vols-au-vent. I can’t think of a better combination and have been drooling all month just thinking about it. My recipe for this filling, made up on the fly, is the last item in the recipe list found below.

The recipe for the puff pastry made what I would imagine is akin to 3 sheets of the storebought stuff. We only needed 1/3 of it for the vols-au-vent. Consequently, I was left with 2 more recipes worth of puff pastry. I’ll post about what I did with the rest of it in the near future, so come on back!

Back to Baking and Blogging

Hi everyone! We returned mid-week from our fabulous “mini-moon” in Asheville. The wedding was more beautiful than I could have imagined and went off without a hitch. Well… if there were any, I didn’t know about them, which is the way it should be, right? Both Jeff and I were probably most touched by how many of our lovely friends and family members traveled such long distances to be with us in our somewhat remote location. We hope you had as much fun as we did! We’ve gotten a few photos sent to us by friends and family. Here’s one of my favorites. Note the flowers. Killer, huh?

Now, on to the matter at hand. Today is Daring Bakers day! I made the challenge recipe the weekend before the wedding, so I was a little bit rushed and therefore not all that creative. This month we were challenged to make a vegan and/or gluten-free version of lavash crackers with whatever kind of dip we wanted, as long as it was vegan and gluten-free. This was the first challenge designed to accommodate those the group fondly refers to as “alternative bakers” and was hosted by Natalie of Gluten a Go Go and Shel of Musings From the Fishbowl. I knew from the beginning I’d make my crackers whole-wheat and therefore sacrifice the gluten-free aspect while still remaining within the rules by keeping it vegan. I’ll admit that it took me a little while to think of a dip that didn’t involve cheese of some kind, but finally I realized I could use my other favorite ingredient, olives, to make a tapenade, which needs no wheat or dairy products to shine.

BLT Dip and 15-Minute Chocolate Walnut Fudge

I was on snack duty for class this week and made both these treats to satisfy both the sweet and salty cravings.

I’ve already mentioned that I have a wonderful team at work. They are all excellent cooks and someone frequently brings a snack for us to munch on during our weekly meetings. One of my colleagues makes this dip on occasion. All six of us go a little crazy when she brings it. I forgot to take a picture of it, so I’ll send you here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/BLT-Dip-2 to check it out.

BLT Dip
Makes 3 cups

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped seeded tomatoes
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 tbsp. chopped green onion, optional
assorted crackers

In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, tomatoes, and bacon. Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with green onion if desired. Serve with crackers.
From Taste of Home
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This fudge doesn’t have the same texture as classic fudge but makes up for it in how quickly it comes together. I usually make the Rocky Road variation with walnuts instead of peanuts. Cook’s Illustrated strongly recommends using good quality chocolate, and I second their opinion. If you like learning new things about cooking and haven’t tried Cook’s Illustrated I strongly recommend it! They only publish a few recipes per issue but they write extensively about the testing that went into creating the recipe and the science of how it works.

15-Minute Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Makes about 2 1/2 lbs.

16 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped fine

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. table salt

1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cut 12-inch length extra-wide heavy-duty aluminum foil; fold edges back to form 7 1/2 inch width. With folded sides facing down, fit foil securely into bottom and up sides of 8-inch-square baking pan, allowing excess to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Toss chocolates, baking soda, and salt in medium heatproof bowl until baking soda is evenly distributed. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Set bowl over 4-quart saucepan containing 2 cups simmering water. Stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is almost fully melted and a few small pieces remain, 2 to 4 minutes.

Remove bowl from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in walnuts. Transfer fudge to prepared pan and spread in even layer with spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove fudge from pan using foil and cut into squares.

Variations:

Peanut Butter Fudge – Follow recipe substituting 18 oz. peanut butter chips for chocolates in step 2 and omitting walnuts.

Rocky Road Fudge – Follow recipe substituting 1 cup miniature marshmallows, 1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts, and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips for walnuts in step 3.

From Cook’s Illustrated