noeuds au sucre (chrusty) ...for mardi gras

Noeuds au Sucre
makes about 2 dozen

1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
oil, for frying
icing sugar, for dusting

Beat the egg, sugar, and milk together. Add the flour. If the mixture is not thick enough to be dough, add more flour.
Start heating oil in a deep fryer or pan to about 180 C.
Roll out the dough to about 5 mm thickness. Cut out strips of dough about 10 cm by 3 cm. Cut a slit in each piece and then pull one end through to make a twist in the dough.
To test if the oil is ready, drop a scrap piece of dough in. It should golden in about 25 seconds. Putting three or four pieces in at a time, deep fry all the dough.
As latter pieces are being cooked, sprinkle those already fried with icing sugar while still hot.
Can be kept up to 2 weeks in a sealed container.
"Noeuds au Sucre" from Les Amuse-Gueules en Fête.

lemon poppy seed scones

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
makes about 12

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp lemon rind
juice of 1 lemon
extra milk for glazing

Preheat oven to 210 C/415 F and grease two baking sheets.
Mix together flour, salt, and butter.
Stir in the milk and water, then work in the poppy seeds, lemon rind and lemon juice. If the mixture is not thick enough, add more flour.
Roll out the dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut circles of about 2 inches wide, and place on baking sheet. Glaze the scones with milk.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until really golden brown (or they might be undercooked).
Modified "Scones" from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.

Note: Although these scones aren't savoury, they aren't sweet either. They're not great on their own, and dry out really easily. Eat them with tea/coffee, or warm with whipped cream, butter, and/or jam.

chocolate ginger mousse

Unfortunately, I can't really give the recipe since I made it on the fly on Thursday.
However, I can say that it's basically a chocolate mousse frozen, and a separate ginger mousse (ginger syrup, egg whites, whipped cream) together in one pot.
(The difference in the above pictures can be attributed to how I removed the dessert from the ramekins. The first was done with hot water, the second just with a knife.)

Other than that, Formal was on Friday night, and they served just desserts. Not great, but I happen to have a picture of them anywho.

potato olive scones

Potato Olive Scones
makes about 24

1 cup mashed potatoes (about 3 potatoes)
1/2 cup milk
black pepper
2 cups self-raising flour
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp black olives, chopped
3 tsp basil
1/2 cup water
extra milk for glazing

Preheat oven to 210 C/415 F. Prepare pans by greasing them with some butter.
Mix the potatoes with the milk and pepper, set aside.
Mix together the flour and butter. Add the olives and basil, then make a well and add the potato-milk mixture and the water. Mix well. Add more water or more flour if necessary.
Briefly knead the dough and roll it out to an inch thickness. Cut out rounds of dough about 3 inches wide.
Place on prepared baking sheets, and brush with milk.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Modified from "Potato and Olive Scones", The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.

The scones didn't turn out quite as I wanted: I don't think they rose enough.

onion parmesan scones

Onion Parmesan Scones
makes about 15

1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups self-raising flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
pepper, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 210 C/415 F. Prepare pans by greasing them with some butter.
Melt the butter in a small pan; add the onions and cook for a few minutes.
Mix together flour, salt, and Parmesan. Make a well, and add the onions, milk, and water to it.
Mix into a soft dough, adding more flour or more liquid if necessary.
Briefly knead the dough and then roll it out to an inch thickness. Cut out rounds of dough of about 3 inches wide.
Place on prepared baking sheets, and sprinkle with pepper.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Modified from "Mini Onion and Parmesan Scones", The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.

pecan strawberry salad

Pecan Strawberry Salad
serves 4

3 cups salad
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup pecans
2 tbsp each sugar, chocolate, cinnamon
3 tbsp butter
4 or 5 strawberries
wine syrup

Sauté pecans with sugar, chocolate, cinnamon and butter. Mix with other ingredients and serve.
(If you're wondering what wine syrup is, it's this wonderful syrup made from rosemary and rosé wine, which has boiled off to leave a thick sugary liquid. I bought some in the Niagara wine region.)

Is paired perfectly with the soufflé from below:

Tonight's dinner (mom also made a meat dish, but I didn't eat that). I really want to try a frozen soufflé sometime soon. It's like a mousse poured into ramekins with built up edges, then frozen. You remove the edges, and it looks like a real soufflé. I must try it.

cheese soufflé

Cheese Soufflé
makes about 10 small soufflés

1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup shredded swiss cheese
tbsp flour
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
dash of vanilla
3 tbsp butter + amount needed to coat ramekins
4 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
pinch of crème de tartar

Dissolve the flour in about 2 tbsp milk. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil, and quickly mix in the cheese, then the flour mixture. Add the salt, sugar, and vanilla. If the mixture is lumpy because of the way the cheese melted, process it so that it is smooth. Cut the butter and let it sit on the top to prevent a crust forming.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat the ramekins with butter.
Beat the egg whites until very stiff, adding the salt and crème de tartar. Separately, boil some water. Mix the egg yolks into the cheese mixture until smooth, and then combine with the whites. Pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins in a pan filled with boiling water, then pop in the oven.
Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

ricotta herb dumplings

Ricotta Herb Dumplings
serves 4

1 package frozen spinach
6 tbsp flour
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 lb ricotta cheese
3 eggs
2 oz Parmesan
2 tbsp semolina
salt and pepper

Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
3 chopped garlic cloves
1/3 cup vodka

Thaw out spinach by pouring hot water over it. Drain very well, squeezing it to maximize how much moisture you remove. Process spinach to a pulp, then add in the other ingredients gradually, or by hand.
Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture into boiling water. If it falls apart very easily, add more flour to thicken it. Boil the pieces until they float, about 3 minutes. Pat dry with paper towel. Keep warm in the oven.
For the sauce: melt the butter, then add in the garlic and simmer for 2 or so minutes. Add the vodka, and bring to simmering. Serve the dumplings with the sauce.
For a bit of colour, cut sundried tomatoes or peppers into strips and use as decoration.
Stolen, "Ricotta & Herb Dumplings with Vodka and Cèpe Butter Sauce", from Celia Brooks Brown's "Party Food for Vegetarians".

I also served some of the cookies from earlier with chocolate cherry ice cream, strawberries, and a simple chocolate sauce (melted chocolate, butter, and Cointreau).

sugar cookies I

Sugar Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C.
Cream together the sugars, butter, and oil. Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.
Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and cook on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Got home from school, lack of homework, made cookies. Also made some of dinner (we have people over), but I'll update that later. Modified from Allrecipes.

peanut butter cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies
makes about 30 cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, 1/2 cup white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, then stir in vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Criss-cross with fork tines.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly, and remove from pan.


I also made oatmeal raisin cookies. It's all for the Reach tournament tomorrow. But, to prevent my parents from eating them, I had to promise to make them their own batch of cookies tomorrow. No ideas on what kind yet, though.

choco savarin

Oreo Savarin
makes 4 servings

2 eggs
5 tbsp milk
3 tbsp margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup oreo crumbs
1/2 cup Kahlua/coffee liqueur

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix together eggs, milk, margarine, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, oil, oreo crumbs, and 3 tbsp Kahlua.
Pour into a greased pan.
Bake for about 20 min for individual savarins, or 35 min for large savarin.
Boil remaining Kahlua to create a thicker sauce.

Traditionally, I use raisins in this recipe in place of the oreo crumbs. Since I found them lying around, and didn't want to use my raisins (for fear I won't be able to go grocery shopping before Friday), I used them. It's true that I hate those processed crap things, but it wasn't half bad. (Look at me - I'm apologizing for my baking... but I don't like oreos. Really.)

darjeeling cookies

Darjeeling Cookies
makes about 4 dozen

2 cups flour
the contents of 4 Darjeeling tea bags
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp orange zest
4 tbsp orange juice

Mix flour, tea and salt together. Set aside.
Cream together butter, margarine, sugar, zest and juice in a mixer. Gradually add in the flour mixture.
Freeze or cool the dough for about an hour. *It will be very dry. This is to give the cookie a very crumbly texture. If you wish to do so, add moisture, like juice, water, or milk, right before this stage.*
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Roll out to 1/4 in thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut cookies.
Place on a non-greased cookie sheet.
Bake about 12 min.
(Recipe altered from Martha Stewart's "Early Grey Tea Cookies" in holiday cookies 2005. I hate the woman, but, man, can she make cookies!)

So, why make these cookies? Bored on a Sunday night, of course. I also made guacamole earlier in the day, but since Hope had my camera from the Friday night party (which was... indifferent, although Hilary A, Peter and Kieran are the funniest drunks, and I had never before seen Eirelyn and Abby high), I was unable to take photographs of it before it all disappeared. Oh well. Someday.
Well, off to make some kind of dessert for tonight. (I really don't feel like doing French or filling out scholarship applications, although I should be doing only that.)