Make this for dinner

I'm not really a pasta person (not anymore, at least), but some things are just too good to pass up. And I would make an exception for a big bowl of this: toothsome strands of fresh pasta, entangled in a mess of lemony roasted artichokes, seared oyster mushrooms and crispy shallots, all glossed with a brown butter-lemon beurre blanc and topped with fresh herbs, grated parmesan and a bit of lemon zest.

This was the vegetarian option for today's menu. The sauce was Sarah's idea, and a killer one at that!

Here is the recipe. It's fairly straightforward - just prep your vegetables while the pasta is resting, and keep an eye on that sauce.

The pasta:
Incorporate 4 eggs into 1# flour; adjust with more flour or egg as necessary. Knead. It should be firm but smooth and elastic. Cover and let rest for one hour. Roll out to one millimeter thick and cut into 1/4 inch strands. Toss with flour so it doesn't stick.

The vegetables:
Roasted Artichokes
Prepare some artichokes: cut the top inch off. Peel the outer leaves until you reach the pale green ones. Pare down the base and stem until the artichoke is evenly yellow/pale green. Cut in half lengthwise, scrape out the choke, then slice into eighths. Dress with olive oil and lemon, season heavily. Roast at 400* until the outside is crispy and the insides are tender.

Sauteed Mushrooms
Clean and slice your choice of mushrooms: cremini or buttons, chanterelles, oyster (our shroom of choice for this dish), or whichever ones you last saw growing out in the cow pasture (just kidding...) Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add a small amount of oil and heat until it is just starting to smoke. Saute the mushrooms in batches - it is very important that you don't crowd them or they will sweat water and steam. Season with salt and pepper.

Crispy Shallots
Slice shallots thinly and toss with olive oil and salt. Roast at 400* until brown and crispy.

The sauce (a modified beurre blanc):
Brown 1/4 # of butter (cook until the milk solids turn dark brown and fragrant; strain). In a saucepan, reduce the juice of two lemons and some white wine until it is thick and syrupy. Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and reduce slightly. While whisking, add cubes of cold butter (a total of 1/4 - 1/2#) alternating with the brown butter. Keep over low or no heat during this time so it doesn't overheat and separate. Season to taste.

Put it all together:
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 30-60 seconds (taste it! it should taste and feel cooked, but not mushy). Drain and put in a saucepan with the hot vegetables. Ladle the sauce in (as much as you need) and toss. Add minced fresh herbs if you have them - parsley and tarragon are nice - and top with grated parmesan and lemon zest.

Hope you like it!

Pretzels

Earlier, I couldn't tell whether I was trying to force myself to go on a walk or stay inside. On one hand, I hiked about 4.5 miles through snow yesterday and my legs are really tired. But it was nice and clear and sunny, and (according to my computer) in the mid-30's! I compromised and went for a 3.5 mile road walk. It sure didn't feel like 34 degrees, though! The wind started up and the temperature dropped rapidly as the sun went down.

Today was a fun one for me - I made pretzels! Chewy, salty pretzels that we scarfed down with lots of mustard. I accidentally left out the butter in the recipe (a half pound), but they didn't suffer in the least. Maybe I discovered the trick to perfect soft pretzels (though generally, leaving any butter out of a recipe is about the worst thing I could do, ever).

I had forgotten just how good a banana cream pie could be when I had a bite of one in class today. All it takes is sliced bananas, pastry cream, and tons of whipped cream, but it's magic.
There was also a really delicious chocolate-banana cake, comprised of devil's food cake, caramelized bananas, a layer of thick chocolate-banana cream, all spackled with chocolate mousse.

We started preparing various laminated doughs for use tomorrow. These are doughs that are rolled out, inlaid with a thick sheet of cold butter, folded, rolled out, folded, etc, to produce several hundred to one thousand layers. The butter melts in the oven and produces steam, which puffs the layers of dough apart and results in really flaky, buttery pastries. Croissant dough uses yeast and less butter, puff pastry uses more butter but no yeast, and blitz puff dough is a shortcut method for making puff pastry that can be used for tart shells, tarte tatin, etc. All are delicious. In my opinion, nothing beats a warm croissant, torn apart and slathered with that divine substance, butter.

Here is the recipe for the chocolate sponge cake from yesterday. I've halved the recipe. It's a very resilient cake, so it would be perfect for rolling up for a chocolate cake roll. Just fill with whipped chocolate ganache or chocolate mousse, then frost the outside with whipped cream. Yum!

I would like to play around with the recipe and see if I could reduce the sugar by at least half, maybe adding coconut or almond flour in its place.

Flourless Chocolate Sponge

8 ea. egg whites

8 oz sugar

8 ea. yolks

2.5 oz Dutched cocoa

pinch salt

1.5 tsp vanilla

Whip the whites and sugar until stiff peaks form.

Stir the yolks, and drizzle into the whites while the mixer is on low speed. Add the vanilla and salt. Sift the cocoa into the eggs while folding together.

Pour into a sheet tray with sides (line the bottom with parchment).

Bake at 325*, until puffed and it springs back when lightly pressed. If using for a cake roll, dust the top with cocoa powder and lay a clean kitchen towel over it (while still hot/warm and pliable). Carefully roll it up and let it cool like that. Once it's cool, you can take out the towel and it will hold its shape.