Bret's Table

Ricotta Cheese Cake with Blackberry Coulis

BRETM — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:48:56 +0000

We are coming into berry season and all summer long, you can use your favorite to accompany this cake. If raspberries or strawberries are more your style, enjoy them instead of blackberries.

I made my own ricotta (see bottom of Strawberry Tart) for this recipe, but if you decide to go the purchased route, what I have found is that every brand is different. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate just how much ricotta is necessary to drain in order to obtain two pounds in the end.

My suggestion is to purchase 2 1/2 pounds or so, drain it and then weigh out two pounds. If you have any leftover it is delicious served on crackers or tossed into some cooked penne pasta.

Serves 10 – 12

For crust:
3 ¼ ounces (¾ cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ¼ ounces (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ¾ ounces (7 ½ tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg yolk
Zest of one lemon, preferably organic
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

For filling:
2 pounds drained whole-milk ricotta*
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from one Vanilla bean
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream

Serve with Blackberry Coulis* and Fresh Blackberries

Place ricotta in a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl at least 6 hours. Place in the refrigerator to keep chilled.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Butter sides and bottom of a 9 x 3 or 10 x 3 inch round cake pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and set aside.

Make crust:
Pulse flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolk, vanilla, and lemon juice and pulse just until mixture begins to form a dough. Spread dough with a small offset spatula or back of a spoon over the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Prick all over with a fork and chill 30 minutes.

Bake crust in middle of oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes, and cool on a rack. Crust can be baked off the day ahead.

Make the filling:
Discard liquid and cheesecloth and using the metal “S” blade in a food processor, process until cheese is smooth. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Then beat in the flour, vanilla seeds and ricotta.

In a clean bowl using the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with salt until they hold soft peaks. Mix 1/3 of ricotta mixture into the whipped egg whites to lighten. Then, fold in the lightened mixture back into the remaining ricotta mixture, folding just until combined.

Pour filling over crust and place pan in a hot water bath. Bake in the middle of oven until cake is puffed and golden and a tester inserted 1 inch from center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in pan on rack. Chill, loosely covered, at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to transfer cake to serving platter, briefly heat the bottom of the pan over a stove-top burner or set pan in bowl of hot water. The goal is to just melt the butter ever so slightly on the bottom of the pan. Run a knife around the cake and turn cake over onto a serving platter. If the cake doesn’t fall, heat the bottom of the pan a little more.

Whip cream to soft peaks and serve with the coulis and blackberries. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

Blackberry Compote
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (1 1/2 pints)

Bring water, sugar, juice, and fresh thyme sprigs to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Cool syrup to lukewarm and discard thyme sprigs.

Purée 2 cups blackberries with all of syrup in a blender. Force purée through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove seeds. Stir remaining cup berries into sauce.

Ricotta and Strawberry Tart

BRETM — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:52:45 +0000

I apologize that my postings have been so few and far between these last 9 months, but I have been taking French classes. What a great experience it has been, but at the same time very intense. We’ve gone from learning the present tense and saying “bonjour” to learning the conditional tense and everything in between.

I’m ready to finish up the semester and get back to cooking; realizing though that with a language it’s practice, practice, practice. Otherwise, it is quickly lost.

I will also be creating recipes, doing recipe demonstrations and teaching cooking classes for Cedar Summit Farm. This means I will get to create recipes using their products. They will be posted on their website as well as on mine.

Here’s the first one using a homemade ricotta using both whole milk and cream from their farm (see recipe at the bottom).

Serves: 8 – 12
Crust:
6 ¾ ounces (1 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ounces (1/2 cup) confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 ½ ounces (9 tablespoons) very cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg

Filling:
12 ounces (1 ½ cups) drained fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese, preferably homemade*
4 large egg yolks
3 ½ ounces (½ cup) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon orange flower water
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon, preferably organic
Strawberries, sliced for garnishing
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Special Equipment:
9 ½ – inch tart pan with removable bottom

For Crust:

Pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in the bowl of a food processor to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in. Some pieces of butter should be the size of say oats and others the size of peas. In other words, different sizes are okay. In a separate small bowl, stir the egg, just to break it up. Then, add it a little at a time to the flour mixture, pulsing after each addition. When the egg has just been incorporated, process the mixture in 10 seconds pulses until the dough just begins to form some clumps.

At this point stop the machine. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and with a gentle hand knead the dough just to finish incorporating any dry ingredients that might have escaped the mixing in the machine. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or overnight. Roll out chilled dough between two pieces of parchment paper or on a marble counter-top to a 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to prevent it sticking to the paper or counter. Note that less flour will be needed if rolling between the parchment paper than on the counter. And, using less flour means a more tender crust so use as little as possible to keep the dough from sticking.

When at the 12-inch round, roll the dough onto your rolling pin and lay it over the tart pan pressing the dough firmly into the bottom edge of the pan. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double-thick sides and extending the sides to about ¼ – inch above the pan’s rim. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, but preferably longer, before baking.

When ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375° degrees F. Take a piece of the parchment paper that was used to roll out the dough and line the tart dough with it. Add pie weights. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 20 to 25 minutes.

Carefully remove the weights and parchment paper. Return the tart shell to the oven and continue baking about 10 minutes longer to fully bake it, or until it is firm and golden brown. If the edges start to become to brown cover with pieces of aluminum foil or what I do is cover it with the “top” of a 10-inch removable tart pan.

For Filling:

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. In the bowl of a food processor, using the metal “S” blade add the cheese, egg yolks, sugar, orange flower water, salt, and zest. Pulse until combined and smooth. Spread filling into tart shell.

Bake, rotating once halfway through, until just set in center about 20 – 25 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool completely. Arrange sliced strawberries in concentric circles atop tart. Dust edge of crust with confectioner’s sugar. Remove tart from pan and serve.

Homemade Ricotta
Ricotta is so easy to make and so delicious. You will need to have a cooking thermometer for your first couple of attempts. The Taylor instant read pocket thermometer is my preference. It is reliable, inexpensive, and compact. Yield: about 3 cups

1 gallon whole pasteurized milk
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt (more if you want a saltier taste and if you are not going to use it for desserts)
1 pint heavy cream (optional)

Rinse the inside of the pot you intend to use with cold water (this helps prevent the milk from scorching). Place 1 gallon milk in large, heavy non-reactive pot on medium heat.

Add salt and stir briefly. Allow milk to heat up slowly, stirring occasionally. Soon you will notice steam start to form above the surface and tiny bubbles appearing on the milk. You want it to reach 180-185 degrees, near scalding temperature, just before it comes to a boil. Check the temperature with your thermometer.

When it reaches the correct temperature, take the pot off the burner, add the vinegar and stir gently for only one minute. You will notice curds forming immediately. Cover with a dry clean dish towel and allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a couple of hours.

When the ricotta has rested for 2 hours or more, take a piece of cheesecloth, dampen it and place it inside a colander. With a slotted spoon, ladle out the ricotta into the prepared colander. Place the colander with ricotta inside of a larger pan so it can drain freely. Let it drain for two hours or so depending on how creamy or dry you want your cheese to be.

Lift the cheesecloth up by the four corners and twist gently. If the liquid runs clear, squeeze a little more. If the liquid runs milky, there is no more need to squeeze. Place in a tight sealed container. Refrigerate. It will keep for up to 7 days.

Ricotta does not freeze well but any remaining that is not used for the tart can be spread on crackers for a delicious snack.

Fine Wood!

BRETM — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:04:37 +0000

Every time Jon and I visit Charlie and Suvir at their home Masala Farm, we are blessed with the good fortune of meeting new friends. In their cozy dining room with it’s eclectic selection of artwork from around the world, we inevitably find ourselves sitting on mis-matched chairs around a very long farm table with cotton napkins from India draped on our laps; the table set with classic Bakelite silverware and vintage dinnerware.

While passing platters of delicious domas, Indian chutney’s, and grilled vegetables, introductions are given to neighbors living down the next country road or friends from far away. During our most recent visit, we had the pleasure of meeting a couple of strapping lads visiting from the UK on their annual pilgrimage to the farm for downhill skiing. We also met one of the graphic designers from J.K. Adams Co. and his delightful spouse. As a gift for the hosts, Brian presented Suvir and Charlie with lovely cutting boards which he had designed.

As the evening ensued, I must have, at some point introduced Brian to Bret’s Table. Because low and behold, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a very large box from J.K. Adams on our front steps. Curiously opening it, to my delight, Brian had sent these two beautiful cutting boards.

J.K. Adams is a cooking enthusiast’s treasure chest. Their showroom and manufacturing facility has been located in Dorset for over 65 years. It is tucked away in the mountains of southwestern Vermont and has been providing chefs and home cooks a place to find the best in culinary equipment.

I picture a selection of cheeses or even an array of individual tarts on the smaller one and a roast on the other; ready to carve the next time one comes out of my oven.

For any who may not know this part of the country, it is an absolutely amazing mix of new and old. Many of the towns date back from the mid 1700 to late 1800’s. The beauty of their villages hold the depth of their history still. Each visit to Masala Farm allows us again to explore this part of upstate New York; rich with history, style, and charm.

As always, Charlie and Suvir are the consummate hosts allowing their guests to want for nothing. Our visits are never long enough to explore the beautiful part of the country that they call home. However, each time we share a meal at their table we raise a glass to new friends and old and begin planning our next visit.

Orange-scented Olive Oil Cake

BRETM — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:57:42 +0000

Adapted from a recipe in Saveur Magazine

Citrus of all kinds are in season during the winter months. Now is the time to take advantage of these delicious fruits and allow them to take center stage.

In this recipe it’s easy to double the candied oranges, making enough for a second cake. The original recipe also called for a 10-inch cake pan. I used a 10 x 3-inch pan. I’m glad that I did as the batter raised quite a bit. And, the indentation seems to be begging for a few supremed orange segments.

2 oranges, preferably organic*
2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
Unsalted butter, for greasing
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons fruity, extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Sea salt, for garnish

Trim about 1/2″ from the tops and bottoms of oranges and quarter oranges lengthwise. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan and add oranges. Bring water back to a boil and then drain. Repeat boiling process twice more with fresh water. Put oranges, 1 cup sugar, and 4 cups water into a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and orange rind can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature. This step can be completed up to a week in advance storing oranges in their syrup in the refrigerator.

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of a 10 x 3-inch round cake pan with butter. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper, butter paper and dust with flour. Set pan aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Remove orange quarters from syrup, remove and discard any seeds, and put oranges into the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse until oranges form a chunky purée, 10–12 pulses. Add remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar, reserved flour mixture, vanilla, and eggs and process until incorporated, about 2 minutes.

Add olive oil; process until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk orange juice and confectioners’ sugar to make a thin glaze. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate. Using a pastry brush, brush orange glaze over top and sides of cake; let cool completely. Garnish cake with confectioners’ sugar, course flaked salt and supremed oranges if desired.

Tarte aux Trois Chocolats

BRETM — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:46:16 +0000

Okay, I’m just learning French, so my translation of “Tart with Three Chocolates” may not be exactly correct. What I do know is that I couldn’t find chocolate graham crackers anywhere in the Twin Cities. I even emailed the Nabisco company asking if they would direct me to a grocer that carried them. I never heard back. If anyone knows where one can purchase chocolate graham crackers, please let me know.

In the meantime, I used a chocolate dough recipe from Claudia Fleming’s book, The Last Course for the crust of this luscious tart. This is another one of the six tarts that I will be teaching this Saturday at The Chef’s Gallery in Stillwater.

Fresh Tomato Tart

BRETM — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:09:36 +0000

Here’s another tart that I will be teaching to the students who sign up for my The Art of the Tart class on Saturday, October 1. It will be held at The Chef’s Gallery in Stillwater MN. Check out this class and the others that I will be teaching this fall. I can’t wait the try some of the options about which my brother Mark, Jon and I were brainstorming while we were enjoying this one.

Meatloaf Muffins

BRETM — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:05:34 +0000

No this post does not include a recipe for meatloaf muffins. However, I had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Dane, the creator of the Meatloaf Muffins blog, a stand-up comedian and hopefully a soon-to-be cookbook author via telephone the other day. Here’s the results of our interview. He’s a hoot and even made me sound funny! Check out his blog if you get a chance. Hopefully, he’s got a recipe for his meatloaf muffins too!

French Apple Tart

BRETM — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:50:07 +0000

This tart totally reminds me of the Tarte aux Pommes in France that I have enjoyed. They can be purchased from any number of patisserie cases in Paris, Provence and many shops in-between.

Of course I had to figure out how to make it. If I do say so myself, it’s darn near close to the taste and texture of what I’ve enjoyed in France and so simple to make. I will be teaching how to make this tart among others to the students who sign up for my The Art of the Tart class on Saturday, October 1. It will be held at The Chef’s Gallery in Stillwater MN. Check out this class and the others that I will be teaching this fall.

Restaurant l’Affable, Cannes

BRETM — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:29:47 +0000

There’s rarely a opportunity missed to talk about food and France. And, it really helps when I have reloaded my wallet with business cards. The most recent occasion was a conversation with ER doctor at Abbott Hospital in the wee hours of the morning during a visit with Jon. Jon’s fine and it gave us a chance to have a follow-up visit with the doctor’s wife to give her some ideas for their upcoming trip to Provence. Here’s a recommendation I received recently for a restaurant in Cannes from a friend who lives near there. It’s called Restaurant lAffable.

For some 30 years, Chef Jean-Paul BATTAGLIA owned a restaurant called “Feu Follet” in Mougins. Now he has moved to Cannes to run l’Affable. The inside scope is that Simca (Simone Beck) used to go to “Feu Follet” almost every Sunday for lunch. Restaurant lAffable. The address is 5 rue laFontaine,06400 Cannes, tel 04.93.68.02.09. If you get there, let me know what you think.

Another scoop on Ice Cream

BRETM — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:24:34 +0000

Recently, I came across an article titled “Here’s the Scoop”, written by Molly O’Neill. It’s in the Aug/Sept issue of Saveur magazine. In the article she talks about the science of making “rich and creamy” ice cream. I had a vague idea of the “science”, so my interest was peaked.

She also writes about one entrepreneur, Jeni Britton and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream stores in Ohio and a lonely one in Tennessee. Jeni has a new book out called, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home (Artisan, $23.95). In it she walks the readers through her novel technique, for what Molly believes is some of the creamiest, most flavorful ice cream on which she’s ever laid her tongue.

The long and the short of her technique is that she uses, among other ingredients, a small amount of corn starch. This replaces the traditional egg yolks as the binder for the frozen emulsion. She also boils the liquid to reduce the water content, thus concentrating and denaturing the milk proteins which then allows a greater ability to bind the remaining water and fat. She also uses some cream cheese, which is high in casein proteins; another binder.

She goes on in more detail about the “science” and has included an ice cream base recipe, plus three variations: Blackstrap Praline, the Darkest Chocolate in the World, and a Beet with Mascarpone, Orange Zest, and Poppy Seeds. Since Jeni said that her base is a starting point for any ice cream, I of course came up with my own version; a Peanut Butter-Chocolate Swirl recipe.

2 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons (1/2 ounce) cornstarch
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 cup (8 ounces) smooth natural peanut butter, divided
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup hot fudge sauce*

In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside. Place the cream cheese and ½ cup of peanut butter in a bowl and set that aside as well.

In a 4-quart saucepan, whisk together the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Cook for 4 minutes and then stir in the cornstarch slurry. Return the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Pour ½ cup of the hot milk mixture into the bowl of the peanut butter/cream mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk mixture and vanilla extract.

Place the bowl with the mixture in an ice bath and stir occasionally until cool. Cover and refrigerate until cold; 6 – 8 hours, or over night.

Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacture’s instructions. Transfer to a freezer-proof bowl and quickly swirl in remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter and ¾ cup chocolate sauce. Cover and freeze until hard. Serve with remaining hot fudge sauce, or use the sauce to make another batch of ice cream.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar or dried cane juice
1/4 cup (1 ounce) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, and salt to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

Add butter, vanilla, and chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool cool completely before adding to churned ice cream.