Bone In Veal Breast Roasted In A Salt Bed

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With Certain Someone back for a while before he jets off again, I find myself a carnivore for once.I have posted a few times here about Certain Someones mothers pork roast which is prepared in a salt bed. Wanting to expand on that theme and writing about it here, I decided to try another cut of meat. Veal breasts are relatively inexpensive and can be very delicious. One can buy them with the bone in or out. If the bones are out , veal breast work great stuffed.You will find all sorts of recipes for veal breast in Italian, German and other European cuisines. I love bones and roasting with them in imparts a whole another dimension. Veal breasts can be fatty, but yields a lot meat in the brisket like section.
This veal breast was simply prepared with a rub of lemon juice and some Penzeys Bavarian Seasoning blend( crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme,bay leaves, and sage),cracked black pepper, and studding of garlic cloves throughout. Place meat in a cast iron skillet or roasting pan. Take a container of salt and pour it around the meat. The meat should not lie on top of the salt, the salt should only surround it. Salt aides in retaining the moisture in the meat, while drawing out fats. The cut of meat draws the just enough salt it needs for flavor. Believer it or not, the meat does not come out salty. The ancient Chinese developed this way of cooking with salt . Roast the veal for 2 hours or more at 350F uncovered, depending on size. Remove from oven and allow to sit to settle.Slice and serve.
Notice how juicy the meat is upon carving.
Cooking with salt crusts works great for whole fish, chicken, and beef as well. The fish is usually covered in salt. The Chinese cover the chicken in a flour, salt,and water crust and bake.

Chocolate Palmiers Equals Love

When I went to art school in Paris I had this friend Shelly that I will always remember for her love of Palmiers, cigarettes, and coffee. It seemed thats how she survived between our studio classes.Palmiers are puff pastry folded into a fan shape, rolled into sugar and baked into caramelized crispy like thin cookies.

You could make some from commercial puff pastry, but I wanted the challenge of making a Pate Feuilletee from scratch, which I haven’t done for years.

While surfing through the online Desserts Magazine , I came across a blogger , who I should have been following, but I am always slow on the uptake. Aran, from Cannelle Et Vanille. She adapted Pierre Hermes Chocolate Pate Feuuilletee and her recipes for a Caramelized Chocolate Mille-Feuille with Chocolate Mousse and Fresh Raspberries Napoleon and Chocolate Palmiers.
Aran warns this recipe can take upwards of 2 days.For me It took 3. I didn’t do the first two steps on the same night, and had to fudge a little. I should have mixed my butter/cocoa mix the same night as I made the dough, and let both rest overnight, but I read the directions wrong. So the next evening after work I speed the process of chilling the butter in the freezer for a few hours so I could incorporate it into the folds and turns of dough.This dough required 5 turns, and you start to see the cocoa and butter turn the white dough into a marbled chocolate slab. I used half a block of dough for 20 Palmiers, and stored the rest in the freezer.
The Palmiers cooled up buttery and crisp. The perfect shapes didn’t hold perfectly and my sugar really caramelized with the butter, thereby not looking all freshly rolled in sugar as Arans were. But nevertheless they tasted superb. Rich, crispy, flaky, full of butter and chocolate, but not to sweet.So the labor, and sore arms and hands from all that rolling and turning are worth it for this special treat. I would love to have a block of this puff pastry on hand in the freezer all time.If life were so perfect…sigh.
Click here for the recipe and check out all the other great articles.

A Gourmet Bread Challenge:Parmesan Pull Aparts

Last Christmas a group of us got together to bake cookies from Gourmet going back decades in their archives.Despite some hair pulling moments we have decided to get together once more to tackle the February issue of Gourmet magazines bread issue, in a more laid back approach. Once a week for the month of February we will post a bread recipe from the 6 that were published.Sandy, the creator of BYOB extended the invite and I was more than happy to participate.

Parmesan Pull Aparts are described in Gourmet as brioche like but easier to make.These pull apart rolls are made with Parmigiano-Reggiano and are pretty easy to put together. My rise was perfect but I noticed on rolling the balls prior to baking , the texture and surface wasn’t as smooth as I was anticipating. Another thing I found unusual for a bread is the use of paddle attachment, not dough hook, and lack of kneading.A nice egg wash contributed to a deep brown glaze.Upon cooling the texture was a cross a between an biscuit and brioche if that is possible. Nevertheless it was hearty roll rich in cheese flavor. I paired it simply with some Speck Ham and strong German mustard. These Parmesan Pull Aparts will be my lunch sandwich bread for the week, as you can keep them up to a month frozen. This bread did not turn out as I imagined it to, but the flavor has a wonderful strong Parmesan flavor that can stand alone or go with your meal. I would like to try this recipe once more to see if the texture changes for a more smooth presentation.Parmesan Pull Aparts adapted by Coco Cooks from Gourmet February 2009
makes 1 dozen rolls

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2/3 cup of warm milk (105-115F), to be divided
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs ( 2 for recipe and 1 for egg wash)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon water( for egg wash)
*A stand mixer is recommended

Mix together yeast, sugar, and 1/3 of the warm milk in mixer bowl of stand mixer.Let stand until foamy for about 5 minutes. If it doesn’t foam start again with new yeast.Whisk flour, salt , and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese . Add this dry mixture to the yeast mixture with the other 1/3 of milk and mix at a low speed with a paddle attachment(not dough hook). Turn up speed to medium and add the 2 eggs, one at a time. Make the sure the egg is beaten well after each addition ans scrape down sides if necessary. Beat for 3 minutes until a soft dough is formed. Beat in butter a little at a time until dough is elastic.2 minutes more. Dough may be sticky. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of flour over the dough and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.Let rise in a draft free warm place for 1 1/2 -2 hours until doubled.

Punch down dough but do not knead.On a lightly floured surface cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball using a cupped hand and pushing it against work surface in a circular motion.Arrange dough ball 1 inch apart in a 9 inch buttered cake pan. Cover again and allow to rise for 1 1/2 -2 hours until doubled.

Preheat oven to 375F with rack placed in the middle.
Whisk remaining egg and water for egg wash. Brush on dough balls.You will need all the wash.Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Loosen from pan using a knife if necessary and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.
Visit my other baking friends for the Gourmet Bread Challenge.

Miso Hungry… Miso Marinated Skirt Steaks

One of my favorite cuts of beef is skirt steak. Once you get it for cheap, but that’s not the case any longer. Skirt steak is similar to flank steak in that they come for the same region of the cow, between the ribs and hip. Skit steak is commonly used in fajitas and requires just a quick pan fry or grilling.
On of my least favorite ingredients, or let me rephrase that, items I need to explore more , is Miso. I am not a huge fan of using the fermented soybean paste in soups, but I love to use it as glaze or marinade for meat and fish.The only Miso soup I have ever liked is one I made myself.I have a bag of Miso stored away in my fridge from some experiments earlier. Miso lasts quite a long time( 1 year or more) if kept sealed in the fridge and it was still good. But check your dates if the manufacturer puts one on the package. My Miso could probably go a bit further as long is its sealed tightly. The fermentation may cause the product to get stronger.If you are worried about sodium , check the contents as well.Red Miso tends to have higher amounts of sodium.

For this recipe I used a white Miso and made a quick tasty glaze for my skirt steak. I also used the same glaze for salmon steaks later on the week and it worked great. I would love to try this on the grill when summer arrives.
Miso Marinated Skirt Steaks
1 tablespoon Miso (white)
1 lb skirt steak
1 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Sake
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon prepared wasabi in tube
In a bowl mix all ingredients . Place skirt steaks in bowl, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.


Take a cast iron skillet or grill and heat on range top. Add a small amount of of oil. Depending on the doneness you desire, grill/fry for at least 3 min on high heat each side for rare. Be careful not to over cook or it will be dry and tough. I prefer mine on the more med to well done side.Allow the steaks to sit for a few minutes before you slice on the diagonal.

Daring Bakers Make Sweet and Savory Tuiles

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I don’t know if it was coming down from a hectic December or just being to busy, but Glamah did not rise to the occasion with creativity on this challenge. With so much going on and Certain Someone away, I was grateful I had a savory option with this months challenge. I choose to use the savory recipe by Thomas Keller from his French Laundry Cookbook. The only substitutions I made to this was add a touch of turmeric for color. One day I hope Certain Someone will whisk me off to French Laundry but in the meanwhile I have my savory tuiles. Judging by the labor and almost burnt fingers rolling these babies in a hot open oven, I can see why Mr. Keller charges an arm and a leg for his outstanding cuisine. Personally,I wouldn’t want that job to be in charge of the coronet shaped tulies. I didn’t have metal coronets so I fashioned some out of parchment paper. The baking tuiles wouldn’t keep their shape . I then then improvised with mini metal tartlette pans. Not perfect , but getting a shape. I sprinkled the tuiles with Nigella seeds that made a nice contrast with the turmeric yellow color. The filling was smoked salmon bits that I pureed with lime,onion, and avocado and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. It was actually pretty tasty. The buttery tuiles reminded me of a high end crispy potato chip. I will probably go to foodie hell saying that. Is this something I would make again. Maybe. I appreciate learning a new technique but for me this just didn’t hold my attention as other challenges have. I realize its a tough job to host these challenges each month and you cant please the thousand of Daring Bakers, Hopefully next month I will get more in the spirit. Please be sure to visit our wonderful hosts and other members to see their creative interpretations of tuiles.

You can find the printable version of all the recipes here .

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