Truffle Mania!

What's a better way to enjoy life than popping one of those rich, decadent, luscious and oh so tempting truffle in your mouth??!

"Um...truffles... Yum!"

Most of us have share the same passion as to eating these fancy, expensive looking chocolates and heck they are EXPENSIVE! But no matter what they are so good and melts in your mouth like no other! To add, makes you feel at your best!

So right around Valentine's Day I went crazy learning how to make truffles myself and I tell you it's not easy to have one perfectly enrobed truffle in a nice shiny coat of chocolate! The tempering of the chocolate for a first timer was just crazy and tedious! However I must say the outcome/ success was very rewarding! =) For a chocolate soul like me, I didn't mind enrobing myself in chocolate as well but what tops the whole experience is being able to share that experience with special people in your life. I have concluded that the next chocolate holiday in my life will be a moment I will not miss to have my family and friends involved in the production of this seemingly fancy confections! =)

After a whole week of trying to perfect the art of truffle making, tempering chocolate, enrobing and (the fun part) eating rejects, I just can't get over the experience and wanted more! It's like a life changing event in my life towards the way I appreciate chocolates/confections. The "oh wow chocolate..yum yum.. gobble everything, done!" attitude was history for me. I now eat my chocolates like it's my first and last. This is basically the same lesson I learned from learning how to make bread and any other kind of food I have prepared in the past: Appreciate and savor the flavors, don't just gobble and wobble after!

I dare you to do the same and I can only promise you one thing, it's all worth all the trouble! Chocolate has never lost it's power to melt somebody's heart!

Lucy's Kitchen Notations

Cooking is my passion but writing all the ingredients and procedures can be a pain in the ass! Honestly, it wasn't after years of doing so did I come up with my own notations which are rather very helpful for me.  The ease of having my own notations have made my life in the kitchen so much better!  Best of all, I am more motivated to document recipe from recipe without spending a lot of time writing ingredients and procedures word for word.

Inspired with my high school algebra and chemistry classes = life made easy!

Keep in mind guys that Math is the language of science thus the combination of those two is just magic!

Here are some of the most common notations I use in my kitchen:

APF   -  All Purpose Flour

BM    - Butter Milk

BS      - Baking  Soda

BP      - Baking Powder

BrS    - Brown Sugar

BSC   - Bitter Sweet Chocolate

Btr     - Butter

C        - Cup

Cc      - Cocoa

DC     - Dark Chocolate

E         - Egg

Gs      - Granulated Sugar

H2O  - Water

Lb       - Pound

LeJ     - Lemon Juice

LiJ      - Lime Juice

M        - Milk

P         - Pepper

PS      - Powdered Sugar (which by the way is also your ICING SUGAR)

Sa        - Salt

SRF    - Self-Raising Flour

SSCC  - Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

TBSP  - Table spoon

tsp      - Teaspoon 

VE      - Vanilla Extract /Essence

Vi       - Vinegar

Y         - Yeast

It's all about the symbols!

 

+             add ingredients together

X             multiply ingredient

∆             heat

∆B           Boil

∆M         Melt

∆350F    Bake at 350F

{[()]}     Grouping symbols

Let me explain the grouping symbols a little bit =>

Grouping symbols stems out from our high school algebra.  Anyone remember "FOIL" method??

Foil method in algebra popularized the grouping symbols but in my kitchen, we are only using the grouping symbols and not the FOIL method!  So now you can just relax and breathe! 

We work the grouping symbols from parenthesis to brackets to braces.  Let me give you an example to refresh the math prowess in you!

{[(6 TBSP Btr + 1 C GrS) + 2 X Large E + 1 tsp VE + 2/3 C BM] +  (2 C APF + 2 tsp BP + 1/2 tsp Sa)}   =  VANILLA BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES

∆ 350 F, 20-25 mins.

This may seem difficult at first because you are not used to it but later you will realize that this is so much easier than your conventional list of ingredients and procedures.  Although people who are new to cooking may find it lacking in procedures, this new trend in writing your recipes will prove easier and helpful as you go along the way.  

I would really suggest this to people who have more advanced knowledge in cooking or baking who can easily fill in the blanks or read between the lines.  For newbies however, this is the start of a new adventure for you as you try new recipes and write them in your own notations just like I did!

In algebra or math in general, you first perform equations in the innermost grouping symbol which is usually those in the parentheses then braces then brackets.  The first step really is to inspect the equation.  Look for the parentheses and combine ingredients in the parentheses first. After that, you combine ingredients in the parenthesis with ingredients within the brackets.  After you combine equations within the braces.

Once you get used to this, it will be so much easier for you to write your recipes like nothing! On top of that, you are not only writing your recipes but also tapping to your math and science skills! =>

Brocolli Souffle

"A soufflé is a light, fluffy, baked dish made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as adessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up" — an apt description of what happens to this combination of custard and egg whites."

3 egg whites

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp APF/ Cornstarch

1/4 C water

pinch of pepper

pinch of celery salt or plain salt

1/4 C boiled/ blanched broccoli flowers chopped

Whisk egg whites until fluffy and stiff.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and cook until slightly brown.  Add APF/cornstarch and cook for a minute.  Add 1/4 of water, salt, pepper and broccoli.  Stir and cook at medium heat until thickened.  This phase is called the "roux."

Fold roux with the egg whites.

Pour in slightly greased souffle dish and bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes.  Bake in middle of oven until puffed and crusted on top but still jiggly in center.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE:  Submerge souffle dish in water bath while baking to avoid cracking.  This provides/creates moist environment inside the oven preventing the surface of souffle from cracking.

TIPPY TIPS:

1.  Use your favorite vegetables like pureed carrots, spinach, cauliflower, squash, potato, bell peppers, etc. to add more flavors and colors.

2.  To make it creamier, add 1/8 C of milk/cream and 1/8 c of water.

3.  If the roux turns out too thick, thin with a little bit of water or milk.  If too thin, dissolve APF/Cornstarch with water and add on your roux mixture.