Boxcar Kitchen

Last week we were walking around our neighborhood looking for a place to eat. If you happen to know Exelmans, you'll know that this is not as easy as it sounds since the neighborhood is otherwise known as the Bermuda triangle of the 16th arrondissement. Housing is a dream but the area lacks the quaint shops and restaurants for which Paris is known. Needless to say, stomachs were rumbling and we pretty much pointed our fingers, spun around three times and headed to Iannello.

The meal was great but the dessert du jour was amazing. The chef had prepared miniature versions of each of the desserts featured on the menu. I love this idea because it takes all the stress out of ordering especially if you're not quite sure if you want something chocolate and sinful or light and fruity. Everything was delicious from the strawberry tiramisu to the profiteroles but the jewel of the platter was the pot de crème. Nestled in a dark black bowl was a perfectly creamy sunshiny yellow custard. I guessed the secret ingredient right away and was as much enamored by the flavor as by the color.

Here is my successful attempt (if I may say so) at Iannello's petit pot de crème au safran. The sweet saffron custard is unlike anything I have ever had and is a mind blowing change from the traditional flavors of chocolate, vanilla and coffee. This recipe is definitely something to get excited about. I know that I am going to have a blast playing the 'what's the secret ingredient game'.

I found this recipe when I was looking online for truffle ideas for Sugar High Friday #25. My inital thought was to research some flavor combinations and then branch off on my own to create something totally cool and unique. However, when I stumbled upon these caramel-dark chocolate truffles with fleur de sel, I knew that I didn't need to go any further. Sometimes, perfect already exists and in that case, you should just do your best to duplicate it.

Not only does this recipe favor my recent and ongoing addiction to caramel, but it also showcases the sophisticated fabulousness that is chocolate and salt. The process was pretty long but well worth my diligence and patience. The caramel chocolate center is complex and dense accented by a light dusting of cocoa powder the defines the outer layer. The final drape of dark chocolate gives the truffles a polished look and nice crackle in your mouth.

I've decided to serve these beauties for Thanksgiving dessert (we are celebrating today) along with a fine apple tart and egg nogg. Since my guests are dark and white chocolate lovers, I tried my hand at another combination. Unfortunately the process is still in the works since I can't seem to get the white chocolate hard enough to roll but the flavor is exquisite. If they ever harden up in time, white chocolate truffles with l'eau de fleur d'oranger will be the finishing touch! (photo to come)

A very big thank you to the Passionate Cook for hosting this month's event!

Caramel-dark chocolate truffles with fleur de sel

20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Additional fleur de sel

Place 8 ounces chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.

Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.

Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.

Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with foil. Place remaining 12 ounces chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115°F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Makes about 32. From Bon Appétit January 2004

Mini pumpkin mousse in caramel verrines

Last weekend I was walking around Montmarte enjoying our unusually mild weather with some friends. One of the bookstores that I passed had set out a table full of cookbooks. Talk about a way to get everyone to stop, look and eventually buy. They had a great collection of the Marabout books and I was happily flipping through a copy dedicated to soups when this lady (a rather rude lady I might add) sort of pushes me and my friend aside and starts browsing the collection. She looks at one book on verrines (pretty much anything served in a glass), turns to her friend and says, "Oh, I just HATE verrines. It is so à la mode. I mean EVERYTHING, just EVERYTHING is served this way now." Despite what you may have heard, "à la mode" does not mean "with ice cream". It means "in fashion".

Ok, my first thought was how can you feel that strongly about serving dishes? I mean, I'm as neurotic as the next person and I love dishes but what have verrines ever done to deserve such disdain? Many people have a tendancy to hate was is all the rage just to be different. I think this lady was one of them, especially judging from her clothing choices.

My second thought was that verrines are very very cool. I love them at cocktail parties! They are the one thing you can eat without having to lick your fingers afterwards. You get to use mini spoons and they are cute! They are the neatfreaks solution to fingerfood. No crumbs, no oozing cream...nothing dropped on the freshly cleaned rug. I had found my Sugar High Friday project for the petits fours theme.

I've been really into caramel lately and have become slightly obsessed with the process. Its absolutely amazing what you can do with sugar and a bit of water. I've found myself standing at the stove watching sugar boil for no particular reason with no specific recipe in mind. I just start it up and see what happens. If only I had been this interested in biology in high school. I would have been this fabulous Nobel scientists with crazy hair, a pocket protector and tons of cash in my bank account. Instead, I spend my time making, burning and eating caramel.

So I decided to put my new fascination to good use and make my very one verrine-ish cups out of caramel. It wasn't very hard to figure out what to put inside either. I am a pumpkin lover, my other half is not. Mini pumpkin mousse cups would mean that I could enjoy all the goodness of pumpkin without being once again forced to eat an entire pie.

Pumpkin mousse

8oz. pumpkin
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar plus 1 tsp.
1 1/2 sheets gelatin
2 egg whites

Set gelatin to soften in a bowl of water.

At the sametime, combine milk and sugar in saucepan and warm over medium heat. Add salt and spices. Once the milk is warm but not boiling, add the sheets of gelatin which should dissolve immediately. Add the pumpkin to the saucepan and whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl combine egg whites and 1 tsp. sugar. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks. Fold into the pumpkin mixture . Refrigerate until set.

Caramel Verrines:

1/2 cup sugar
2 - 3 Tbsp. cold water

Pour water into a heavy bottom saucepan. Add sugar and combine to form an even white paste. Dissolve sugar slowly being sure to wipe the sides of the casserole to avoid any cristalization. Do not stir. Once the caramel has reached the desired color, remove from heat and stir.

On a sheet of aluminum foil, pour caramel into small free form rounds. Once the caramel is cool enough to touch, mold it into mini cups. The caramel cools very quickly and will set completely if left too long. It is better to work in sets of 4 cups at a time in order to control temperature and form. The remaining caramel can always be reheated and softened.

I wanted to do something interesting after making the kisses and I started thinking a lot about vacherin which is a meringue based dessert. The general structure is made up of layers of meringue and cream or ice cream and finished off with seasonal fruit. Raspberry seems to be a popular flavor for this dessert.

The most traditional meringue flavors tend to be vanilla, chocolate, almond and lemon. While these are all delicious and simple, I wanted to adopt a more complex flavor combination à la Ladurée. They have a series of flower based macaroons (violet, orange blossom and rose). I had picked up some jasmine essence at Paris' Asian market, Tang Frères and had been itching to use it. The result was perfumed and awesome just like biting into a bouquet of flowers.

Meringues (modified Colin Cowie recipe)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup superfine sugar
4 egg whites
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 drop of jasmine essence (be careful not to use too much- the flavor develops during baking)

Add salt and cream of tartar, vanilla and essence to the egg whites and beat. Slowly add in the sugar while mixing continuously. The final result should be stiff shiny (so shiny that you can see your reflection shiny) egg whites that make proud little peaks that stand up on their own.

For this recipe I piped the meringue into 3-4" circles and baked them at 120°C for about 30 minutes and then finished them off with the oven door open.

Makes about 4 larger of 6 smaller meringues

Patisserie cream

250 ml of heavy cream
150 ml of 2% milk
3/4 tsp vanilla
3 egg yolks
80 grams sugar
40 grams flour

Heat the cream and milk to a boil and add in the vanilla at the last minute.
At the same time, beat together the yolks, sugar and flour until you have a thick consistency that ribbons into the bowl.
Add the milk to the egg mixture and continue to heat over a low temperature while all the while whisking. Once the mixture thickens up, remove and place in the fridge to cool.