Don’t you think First, Make a Roux is a lovely blog title? I rather do. It’s the perfect name for someone from Louisiana. The first time I wandered over there, I even said so in the comments section. I went over there this morning to find that I have been awarded A Ward. An award! Nice! It is called Honest Scrap. I don’t know why it’s called that, but it’s orange, and there’s a hammer, so that’s cool. Regardless, I am happy to be the recipient of Such a Thing. Go check out First, Make a Roux; it’s nice over there. Plus, she likes chick peas, which makes me like her even more. I do enjoy a good chick pea.
At any rate, back to the award. I am supposed to tag folks and then tell 10 honest things about myself. I guess that’s where part of the Honest Scrap comes from. Since I would never tell you anything dishonestly, I’m going to bend the rules and tell you my Ten Favorite Pastry Tips/Tricks, etc.
- Rolling dough out between parchment is one of the best tricks ever. It’s a great way to roll out gingerbread, graham crackers, and chocolate wafer cookie dough,too. Since your rolling pin doesn’t stick, you don’t need to add more flour, and this equals a more tender end product.
- Leaving cookie dough in the fridge for a day or two equals better cookies. Hard to do, I know, but it’s true.
- Use metal bowls for ice baths. Metal will conduct the heat out of whatever you’re cooling quickly. Glass, on the other hand, is an insulator.
- Quick and dirty chocolate sauce: equal parts corn syrup and cream heated to just below a boil. Whisk in excellent quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate until the mixture coats your finger spoon.
- To thicken standard buttercream made with 10X and butter, don’t keep adding sugar. Sugar will just attract moisture and you’ll end up with soupy icing. Thicken by adding a bit more butter and refrigerating, instead.
- The lower you can bake a custard, the creamier and wonderful-er it will be. If you have the time, try 200F in a water bath. It’ll take forever, but the Reward will be Great.
- The cookbook writer has no idea how hot your oven runs. Use your senses to let you know when the cake is done.
- Even though baking is a precise science, you have some room to play: change up spices, add some herbs, stir in some dried fruit, add some citrus zest, substitute extracts. Just a couple of pinches of nutmeg in a yellow cake make a huge difference.
- Plastic wrap stretched over a pot on the stove will give you a very tight seal–much tighter than the lid. Poke a hole in the center for steam to escape.
- Steep herbs, spices, ground nuts or citrus zest in cream overnight and then strain, pressing down on the solids. You now have a flavored cream for making custard or panna cotta. Steep herbs or spices in ice cream base overnight, strain and spin for subtly flavored ice cream.
Blogs I Enjoy or Bloggers I Appreciate
So, the second part of this award is that I am supposed to pass this on to seven other blogs. All of us are out here doing our part to provide Honest Scraps, in one form or another. If this describes you, take this award with my blessing and pass it along, if you’d like. I’m sharing this with all of you Scrappily Honest/Honestly Scrappy bloggers out there. You know who you are.
