ICOOT Quickfire Challenge: Something Sweet (1/31)

[Ron Burgundy]

The bar has been set pretty high by a dude with 2 posts! I think these quickfire challenges are going to be very popular.

[SamIAm]

I was pretty intimidated by crepes because I'd never made them before. I figured public criticism and photo documentation was a great way to first try an intimidating froofy french recipe. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

<font color="orange">Crepe Suzette w/ Orange Chocolate Mousse and Candied Citrus Zest</font>

Candied Citrus Zest

Use a peeler to cut-off strips of zest from an orange and a lemon. If you get the pith (the white bitter part) scrape it off with a knife. (As seen in the bottom right below.)



Julienne the zest, getting even length pieces. Save the rounded parts that didn't make it into the matchsticks, as you'll need zest for other recipes. (As in the top right above. You'll get even more, as the pieces aren't rectangles.)

Boil the pieces in water for 10 minutes and then drain. Do this 3 times. The zest should get translucent and soft.



2/3 C water
1/3 C sugar
1 T light corn syrup

Bring the above to a boil and then simmer with zest for 25 minutes. The pieces becomes edible and sweet. Drain again and roll in sugar. Let cool.



Notice that by this point, you can't really tell orange from the lemon. I was kinda bummed by this, but they still tasted good. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Orange-Chocolate Mousse

6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/4 C Grand Marnier
1/4 C water
1 t vanilla extract

Melt the above in a double boiler. I shredded the unsweetened with a microplane. I should have just chopped it with a serrated knife.



When smooth, add 1 t orange zest and 1.5 sticks butter. Mix well and let cool to room temp.

Whisk 8 egg yolks (save the whites) with 1/2 C sugar until thick and light yellow. If you only have a hand-whisk, this is pretty rough. I'm getting a nice new mixer in a week, so put my old mixer in storage last week. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I also lifted weights right before cooking. I'm an idiot.



Whisk the 8 whites with 1 T sugar until thick and foamy. (This also sucks with a hand-whisk.)



Whisk a quarter of the whites concoction into the chocolate, and then carefully fold the rest in as well. You want it to stay airy, but get mostly homogeneous.

Whisk 1 C whipping cream with 1 T sugar. (Yes, it sucks. Yes, mixers are very useful. I get it.) Fold this into the mousse. Chill for &gt; 1 hour to set.

Orange Crepes

I modified a normal crepe recipe to include more orange.

2 eggs
3/4 C milk
1/2 C orange juice
1 C AP flour
3 T melted butter
2 t orange zest

Put all of the above in a blender and mix on high for 10 seconds. This ensures a much smoother batter than whisking. (Thank god.)



Then let sit for at least an hour in the fridge. This lets the bubbles work-out.

You definitely don't need a special crepe-pan; I used a normal 10" teflon frying pan. Over medium heat, coat the pan with butter. When it's all melted, pour a little less than 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and sorta roll the contents around so the liquid hits the edges of the base of the pan twice, moving the mass of the uncooked batter around and around till it sets. Let sit on the heat till the edges look cooked, and then flip. I couldn't get a nice natural flip on my frypan, so I used a long spatula. Pretty lame, but it worked fine. Let sit on the other side for ~20 seconds and then move to a cookie sheet in a 175degree oven while you make the rest of the crepes and then eat dinner.



Crepe Suzette

I don't have any prep-pics of the suzette part, because I was doing it while my guests waited. Sorry.

1/2 C Grand Marnier
1 T white sugar
1 T brown sugar

Melt the above over medium heat and stir. When it's dissolved, add 1 stick softened butter. After mixed and starting to simmer, coat each crepe one at a time on both sides. Don't bother with the flame trick; it's really cool looking but doesn't do anything for the food at all. The only alcohol that's burning is the vapors above the food, so the alcohol in the food isn't effected.

Fold into quarters and pour over extra sauce. Dish the mousse topped with the candied zest. Serve.



-Sam

[SamIAm]

I was REALLY happy with this dessert. The mousse was super light and airy, all but my first crepe turned out perfectly, and the suzette topping was absolutely amazing. Just wiping out the pan after dessert was a treat, because there was basically Butter-GrandMarnier BrownSugar-Candy lining the pan!

My guests were a little late and I finished cooking a little early, so I had time to make a whole other batch of crepes. Seperated by wax paper and then placed in a zip-top bag, they keep pretty well in the fridge. I can't imagine they'll stay there very long, though; they'll probably be breakfast tomorrow. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Sam

[Ron Burgundy]

Sam,

You know that scene from Anchorman when I'm talking to Veronica and all of a sudden I notice I've got a gigantic hard on? That just happened again while I was looking at this recipe.

[Pivotonian]

Sam,

That looks awesome. I think I could happily die from being suffocated in a bucket of the mousse.

Two questions if I may.

1. For the candied zest, I assume you used fresh water for each of the three boilings? What is the purpose of this stage, removing the acid/bitterness from the zest?

2. How much is a stick of butter (we don't buy butter by the stick in Australia)?

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
1. For the candied zest, I assume you used fresh water for each of the three boilings? What is the purpose of this stage, removing the acid/bitterness from the zest?

[/ QUOTE ]
Right. It's just not the consistency of food until it boils for a long while, and you're leeching out all sorts of peel tastes (and probably some zest flavoring; the water was bright green/yellow. I figure there's plenty of zest flavor to spare.)

[ QUOTE ]
2. How much is a stick of butter (we don't buy butter by the stick in Australia)?

[/ QUOTE ]
When God created butter, He made it in 1/4 lb sticks. I don't know what perverse form of butter you guys use down-under.

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Sam

P.S. I'm super impressed by the rising on your souffle. Really well done. I'm psyched you're starting to participate in these threads.

[SB182]

pivo,

i just wanted to reiterate that is a fine looking souffle.

sam,

the mousse and crepes look great.

i'm really interested to see what the oot chefs can come up with here and you two have provided an enticing start.

[NhlNut]

Holy crap,
2 competitors in, and we have a souffle, crepes and chocolate mousse. what's next tart tatin?

nice job.

[adsman]

Pivo,

Great post. Hang around.

[loose passive]

Expect to see something from me some time soon. Here are some of my ingredients. All of the citrus except for the tangelos are from my own yard. Pictured are limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruits and tangelos.

Not to sure what I am going to make. Any suggestions?