Tag: French

Posted on

Goat Cheese Soufflé

goat cheese souffle
goat cheese souffle
Soufflé. Not difficult, and tasty!

Last week when were down at our weekly walk, we were chatting with some people about various restaurants around town. Apparently, one has a cheese soufflé that people rave about. Immediately we came up with the idea of making a soufflé using goat cheese. Sounds good, right? There was only one problem, we don’t own a soufflé dish. Well, maybe two problems, as we’ve never made a soufflé. Okay, three problems, one of us, the one who was going to make the soufflé, had never even eaten soufflé and had no idea what the finished version should be like.

Continue reading “Goat Cheese Soufflé”

Worth the trouble?
Posted on

Savory Crêpes

savory crêpes
savory crêpes
Crêpes, fancy!

We were perusing a book the other day — we won’t name it, because we’re going to say something unflattering about it — and came across a recipe for crêpes. More than a recipe, actually; this author explained the ratio of ingredients in crêpes. Now, you might be saying, “so, what’s the big deal?” Well, by knowing the ratio of ingredients, you can whip up any amount of crêpes, pretty much anywhere; there’s nothing else you need to know.

We tried them, filling the crêpes with raspberries. And they were awful. Rubbery. Too much egg, resulting in something that resembled a thin, lightly floured omelet. Just awful. By the way, you can find that particular ratio being touted on the Internet, but we’re here to tell you, DO NOT USE IT! We’ll show you the proper ratio below.

Continue reading “Savory Crêpes”

Worth the trouble?
Posted on

Crème Caramel

creme caramel
creme caramel
Smooth and creamy!

Nothing is more frustrating than trying a recipe and finding out that it’s wrong. And that’s exactly what happened when we tried making Michael Ruhlman’s recipe for crème caramel from his book Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World’s Most Versatile Ingredient. Once we started, it became obvious that, as written, it was never tested. But, fortunately for you, every single recipe you read on this site is tested in the Scratchin’ It Test Kitchen, making it possible for you just to whip up desserts like crème caramel as though you were a pro.

Continue reading “Crème Caramel”

Worth the trouble?
Posted on

Pâte Sucrée

pate sucree
pate sucree
Once refrigerated, we’ll have two crusts ready to roll.

We’ve wanted to make this crust for a long time, but haven’t really had a need for it until now. We’ll show you why we needed one tomorrow, but, for today, let’s just cover making Pâte Sucrée, or sweet pastry crust.

One of the reasons we haven’t made this type of crust is that our go-to crust, Pâte Brisée, is so easy to whip up in only a few minutes. That, and there are hundreds of variations on sweet pastry crust, many from recipes where the crust is associated with a particular type of filling. Do you think bakeshops do that? Of course not. They find a great sweet pastry crust that they use for nearly everything, which is exactly what we’re looking for, too.

Continue reading “Pâte Sucrée”

Worth the trouble?
Posted on

Herbes de Provence

herbes de Provence
A mix of herbs.

We needed some Herbes de Provence for a recipe that’s coming up, but we didn’t have any in the house. Well, we never do, actually, as it isn’t any specific blend of herbs at all; instead, it’s just a mix of common herbs that grow in Provence. To us, that means that we’re free to make up anything we want; well, almost anything, so we came up with this recipe. We guess this should really be called Herbes de Tucson.
Continue reading “Herbes de Provence”

Posted on

Lavender Crème Brûlée

Fancy!
Fancy!

So, do you ever wonder how restaurants choose their house-made desserts? Think it’s based on flavor? We think not. We think it’s based on how easy the dessert is to make. After that, it’s how much profit the dessert produces. Then, probably, how good it is. So, we think, the tastiness factor comes in third on the list. If that’s the case, why is crème brûlée so often found on upscale menus? Simple. It’s simple to make!

Continue reading “Lavender Crème Brûlée”

Worth the trouble?
Posted on

Mini Croissants

pain au chocolat
croissants and pain au chocolat
Mini croissants and pain au chocolat.

Every Monday, we head downtown to participate in a free, non-competitive, evening walk/run, and, one Monday a month, we help out by staffing the check-in tables. When we volunteer, we like to bring little treats. Nothing too big, just a little bite that says to the other volunteers, thanks for helping. This past Monday, we decided to bring croissants. Made from scratch, of course, but not full-size croissants. We thought we’d try to make them bite-sized.

Continue reading “Mini Croissants”

Worth the trouble?