Cookthink Cookup

If you asked me when the last time was that I cooked something at home, really cooked something as opposed to: unwrapped, defrosted, reheated, microwaved, added water and stirred, you would receive nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders, a surly grunt and perhaps a confused stare.
Being completely honest with you, before I began working in the industry those things were all I did. I didn't know a thing about food, restaurants or cuisine and I didn't really care. It was merely an occupation that would one day allow me to travel freely and experience the many great wonders of the world. And, at the time, committing myself to a tertiary education for a degree in some randomly chosen field without passion seemed about as useless as tits on a pig.
Well, fortunately, I can say that whilst working myself into a professional state of seclusion over the last 4 years the job has grown on me immensely. So much so, that with my working hours I still find it impossible to cook for myself. When I'm at work I try to do the best I can and when I'm not, I bring all of my professional baggage home and brood over how to do it better.
My submission for 'Root Source Challenge #11: Bourbon' is a chocolate bread & butter pudding with saffron cream (an adaptation of pastry cream from Tartine that took a little tweaking to get just right) which we now serve with red wine-poached pear and a brush of chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

2 stale baguettes, crust removed and sliced
870 g cream
160 g bourbon (or rum if you prefer)
300 g dark chocolate, chopped
150 g unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 oranges, zested
2 lemons, zested
6 eggwhites
220 g castor sugar

Spray and line a square cake tin with baking paper.
Place bread slices evenly into the tin in layers.
In a medium pot, bring cream and bourbon to a simmer.
Throw in the chocolate, butter, cinnamon and zests.
Stir continuously over low heat until it is completely emulsified.
Whisk together the eggwhites and sugar in a bowl.
Temper the egg mix by pouring in a little chocolate cream into the bowl at a time while whisking continuously.
Pour the entire mix over the layers of sliced baguette, wrap and leave in the fridge overnight to soak.

Saffron Cream

600 g milk
a good pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp salt
100 g castor sugar
22 g cornflour
2 eggs
55 g unsalted butter, chopped

In a pot bring the milk, saffron and salt to a simmer.
Reduce heat to the lowest setting and allow to infuse for 1/2 hr.
If using saffron threads, break them up with a submersion blender to bring out the colour.
In a bowl whisk together the sugar, cornflour and eggs.
Temper with the milk by adding a little at a time to the eggs while whisking continuously.
Pour everything into a clean pot and whisking continuously, bring it to a simmer for a minute (this is when cornflour will begin to thicken).
Remove from heat and throw in the butter.
Keep whisking until it has emulsified.
Transfer to a bowl and cool over ice, stirring with a spatula every now and then to achieve a very smooth finish.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Unwrap the cake tin and slide it into the middle rack.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes. It will puff up a little and when ready, the top layer of crust should be crisp.
The saffron cream can be served alongside both hot or cold.

Staying Grounded

When the change in weather comes each April it seems to bring with it a certain amount of gloominess. Immeasurable even by my PMS scale the depressive state that descends upon the open kitchen goes unnoticed by few and with the persistent rain and cold winds we are forced to say our sad goodbyes to the beautifully fresh and vibrant fruits of the summer.
A change is long overdue with the current state of peaches - almost inedible from being picked whilst shockingly under-ripe to save them from the seasonal downpours. So it's time. The new menu is unveiled and with it we bring longer, slower cooking and a little more invention.
In honour of 'Lights Out, Knives Out' held by Black.Salt with the hopes of preserving Earth Hour in a slightly more challenging way, I've provided my recipe for coffee soil. With additional butter it could be transformed into a streusel or crumble topping, or left simply to be sprinkled over an affogato or hidden amongst the layers of a tiramisu to create an interesting textural and taste sensation. But don't think that it should be left until the last course! As pictured, the coffee soil was plated alongside a vanilla parsnip puree and dirt cheap wagyu beef shin (pun intended) which was first caramelised in a smoking pan and then braised for 3 hours in a spiced veal stock.

Coffee Soil

100 g unsalted butter
125 g castor sugar
125 g almond meal
75 g flour
30 g dutch-processed cocoa powder
25 g freshly ground coffee
10 g cooking salt

Preheat gas oven to 180ºC, spray and line a tray with baking paper.
Rub all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
Spread mix out onto the tray and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through, turning the soil every now and then with a fork.

The Hangover Cure

This Saturday just passed found me in the Laundry basement at 2am dancing next to a washing machine with sleeves rolled up and electro-funk blaring from all corners, girls sloshing bottles of Heinekin all over each other and the designated driver grinding up and down my leg with another glass of gin & tonic in hand.
So for the first A.W.E.D event - 'Viva Mexico' I present (and rather befittingly I might add) my hangover cure: churros with chocolate.
Obviously it's not the most logical of methods to ail one's dehydrated body (I suppose what those of us who like to party hard should really be investing in are intravenous drips for non-commercial usage) although the combination of low-GI sugars, dairy and grease together seem to do wonders in taming stomach acidity.. And heck, who can ever say no to dessert for breakfast?

Churros con Chocolate

1 L water
240 g unsalted butter
800 g plain flour
20 g cooking salt
15 g castor sugar
4 whole eggs

In a large pot bring water, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat and throw in flour immediately, stirring vigorously to combine until it forms a ball.
Place dough in a large bowl and spread out the mix to let it cool down quickly.
When cool enough to touch, crack in the eggs and mix thoroughly with gloved hands.
Pipe out with a size 9 star nozzle into 185ºC oil (be wary not to over-fill the fryer as it will bubble up)and deep fry until crisp and golden.

250 ml milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cooking salt
150 g dark chocolate

Scald the milk and spices in a medium pot.
Over a low heat, add the salt and chocolate.
Stir continuously with a spatula until completely melted and combined.