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Stovetop Dessert


Patrick A.

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Ok, This is the first of a few topics I am going to start to help me and our culinary team here at Silver at Silver High. We are part of a national program called ProStart for more info heres the site http://www.nraef.org/prostart/ . Its in part of the NRAEF or National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Here's it site http://www.nraef.org/index.asp .

The team last year, which i was a part of placed 2nd at state. The dessert was a bread pudding with a whiskey sauce. I came up with the recipe for the bread pudding part which i have eaten several times. In this part of the U.S, it's referred to as capirotada. I twist ed the old version i grow up with and add some more dried fruits and green chile, which actually add a really great taste. I'll post some picture once i get them from our advisor.

Here's the basic Set up

gallery_51321_5348_644637.jpg

This is Gadsden, NM at Nationals last year.

We only have two gas burners and the two tables in a L shape as you can see and thats it. Nothing else. We have to bring all our supplies. There are four members on a team We aren't provided or allow any electricity. We have to do all our cooking on those two burners. We have to prepare in 60 minutes a starter, Entree (Protein, Starch, Veggie), and a dessert. They have to be plated on a standard white round plate. This year they made a new rule that we have to pick four knife cuts (you know a brunnoise, julienne, etc) and incorporated them into our dishes.

Anyway, Here's my question that a ask those of egullet to help me with. In other words be our mentor chefs. Does anyone have any ideas for a dessert that we can cook on a stove?????? I have some ideas that i am going to play with, but i would like to have more insight into what you think will work. Thanks! :biggrin:

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I like the idea of a risotto, but the time limit might make that a challenge -but tons of possibilities. Crepes also a great idea if you can fancy them up for the plating. What about a sweet tamale, steamed, then pan seared? Could you afford to give up a burner long enough to steam them? If you did minis it wouldn't take forever to cook.

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Make a cake? I've always loved the thought of the "mille crepe cake" and you can make larger crepes stove top and cut the rounds from that for a smaller version. Here are a couple examples:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/darkes...late-crepe-cake

http://www.mackenzieltd.com/mackenzie/Item...Cake_MCC25.html

http://tartelette.blogspot.com/2007/04/dar...crepe-cake.html

eta: it could be fun to make these look like actual cupcakes if you wanted.

Edited by Genny (log)
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You might cook much faster than I do, but I'd hate to try to make a mille crepe cake in that time limit. Also, how much can you do in advance? I always let my crepe batter sit for a couple of hours.

In your shoes, I'd try to do something relatively easy but work on flavors and presentation.

So, for example, a purchased ice cream served with sauteed bananas. But the bananas could have rum, brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves. You could let the ice cream soften slightly and mix in rum soaked raisins or other flavorings.

Or red wine poached pears,

or poached figs,

you can play with the flavorings they are poached in.

served with an amazing ricotta or mascarpone.

I love a grunt or a stewed fruit with dumplings, but I suspect that will look too rustic to garner many presentation points.

The Kitchn

Nina Callaway

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I've been thinking of German pancakes. I thought they were done in the oven, but I'm seeing recipes for stove top. They may be old fashioned enough that you could make them modern and sexy. You could play with the flavors like a ginger pancake with banana mousse and crushed cacao nibs.

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You could bake a cake in a pressure cooker. Actually, having a pressure cooker might be handy for other items on your menu, too, since you have a such a short period of time in which to prepare the meal.

A nice, moist, fruit-based cake with a simple sauce and a dollop of fresh cream might be a good choice. Please tell us more about the other parts of your meal -- it would be easier to suggest specific dessert ideas.

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I don't think you mentioned when the competition is but if it's before Christmas you might be able to use the pressure cooker idea for a sticky toffee pudding with a homemade caramel sauce. Whipped cream or creme anglaise is nice with it too but I don't know if it would be possible without refridgeration and with your time constraints.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/104071 - I haven't used this specific recipe but so you have an idea what it is. (I can PM you the recipe I use if you like.) It's basically a very moist cake with dates that dissolve so even people who don't like dates love it. It's served warm with the caramel sauce poured over. You could easily do this in individual ramekins although it's very rich so probably no bigger than 6 oz. I've never cooked a cake in a pressure cooker but maybe kbjesq could help you if you decide to take that route.

Edited by CanadianBakin' (log)

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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You might cook much faster than I do, but I'd hate to try to make a mille crepe cake in that time limit. Also, how much can you do in advance? I always let my crepe batter sit for a couple of hours.

In your shoes, I'd try to do something relatively easy but work on flavors and presentation.

So, for example, a purchased ice cream served with sauteed bananas. But the bananas could have rum, brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves. You could let the ice cream soften slightly and mix in rum soaked raisins or other flavorings.

Or red wine poached pears,

or poached figs,

you can play with the flavorings they are poached in.

served with an amazing ricotta or mascarpone.

I love a grunt or a stewed fruit with dumplings, but I suspect that will look too rustic to garner many presentation points.

According to the rules, we can't do any actual work in the mise en place just set up our workplace except in the 60 min time block or we're disqualified. This year they want us to make everything we take thats pre-prepared. If we can keep the ice cream cold enough it may work. The poached pears was one of the ideas i was playing with this year.

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You could bake a cake in a pressure cooker.  Actually, having a pressure cooker might be handy for other items on your menu, too, since you have a such a short period of time in which to prepare the meal. 

A nice, moist, fruit-based cake with a simple sauce and a dollop of fresh cream might be a good choice.  Please tell us more about the other parts of your meal -- it would be easier to suggest specific dessert ideas.

A pressure cooker sounds like a good idea. I never though about making a cake in that. We'll have to try experiment with that. As for the other parts of the meal, we are still in the trial and planning phase.

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I don't think you mentioned when the competition is but if it's before Christmas you might be able to use the pressure cooker idea for a sticky toffee pudding with a homemade caramel sauce. Whipped cream or creme anglaise is nice with it too but I don't know if it would be possible without refridgeration and with your time constraints.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/104071 - I haven't used this specific recipe but so you have an idea what it is. (I can PM you the recipe I use if you like.) It's basically a very moist cake with dates that dissolve so even people who don't like dates love it. It's served warm with the caramel sauce poured over. You could easily do this in individual ramekins although it's very rich so probably no bigger than 6 oz. I've never cooked a cake in a pressure cooker but maybe kbjesq could help you if you decide to take that route.

The competition isn't until March but we have started trying to plan a menu. That recipe sounds interesting. I've made creme anglaise before iit may work.

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What about a twist on an old favorite? You could do a good old fashioned banana's foster or cherry jubilee in a saute pan over ice cream if you can have prepared ingredients like ice cream. Or maybe a mango foster or something kind of fun like that. I think controlled flames are certainly interesting for competition.

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This may be a little too far from what you're wanting to do but you could make a cold soup of fresh orange or tangerine juice, a sweet sparkling wine, a little sugar if needed and a little fresh basil. Pile some caramelized fennel with orange or tangerine zest in the middle of the bowl, sneak in a few mandarin segments somewhere if you want more fruit going on, pour the soup around and top it with a quenelle of olive oil ice cream (if you have a way to keep that cold on-site), sweetened olive oil whipped cream or foam (if you have a cream siphon and, like me, don't care if foam is still cool or not) or just a drizzle of a really fruity olive oil. Actually, I'd probably work something crunchy in there somewhere. Some type of sweet croutons, a tuille or a disc of some sort between the fennel and cream if I was using that, or something.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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I've always dreamed about doing something like "Magical Sugar".

Use one pot of sugar and water, then pull out a needed amount at each stage as it progresses through the heating, from taffy to peanut brittle to fancy little webs for decoration. Add different flavorings to each portion as it is removed from the pot, then proceed with the remainder of each recipe.

Each component of the plated dessert would have to work with the others, and there are some logistical issues to deal with the timing and distribution of work, but it would really be a show of technique, I think. Plus it only takes up one burner.

ETA: Plus there's always a zabaglione over poached fruit. Another technique dish. Or Floating Islands, if you want to go with a classic.

Edited by FistFullaRoux (log)
Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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The champagne creme brulee from Roland Mesnier's book is good - it's basically a stovetop creme pat you put it in a mixer to finish and add the butter and champagne. He presents it with grapes in it (a la the fresh raspberries in creme brulee) and then sugared grapes on the side. I always make a big batch so it takes a while to cool down; it might not be enough time for your competition

But I like the idea of the toffee pudding cake in the pressure cooker....

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Another idea that would add some uniqueness to a competition. Gnocchi. You could make chocolate gnocchi, boiled, pan seared in butter, then served with a rum chocolate sauce. Or any other flavor combination to go with the rest of the meal.

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What are the criteria upon which you will be judged? Are they looking for novelty and innovation? Solid classical techniques? Might be strategic to try and gear your entry towards what the judges are looking for.

Cutting the lemon/the knife/leaves a little cathedral:/alcoves unguessed by the eye/that open acidulous glass/to the light; topazes/riding the droplets,/altars,/aromatic facades. - Ode to a Lemon, Pablo Neruda

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Another idea that would add some uniqueness to a competition.  Gnocchi.  You could make chocolate gnocchi, boiled, pan seared in butter, then served with a rum chocolate sauce.  Or any other flavor combination to go with the rest of the meal.

I might have to steal... errr... borrow that one. :biggrin:

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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  • 3 months later...

Sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to this, but Thanks you all for your help!!!!! Competition is in two weeks and we have started playing with ideas. i have pictures of our attempts up soon. and again thank you for all your help.

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Here's the picture of the teams first attempt at our dessert idea.

gallery_51321_5348_487946.jpg

It's a Grilled fruit Compote with a ginger glaze. They added angel food cake since we were experimenting. I didn't actually make this one, but another member of the team did. I've changed it up since this picture.

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Not sure if this idea will work with your menu but is fast and easy. Make a fryer with a pot and some oil. Then make a fruit or chocolate "spring roll". I have done a banana layered with some vanilla sugar in phillo dough rolled up like a spring roll fry till brown, you could serve with a fruit "salsa" to incorporate some of those knife cuts, I like to serve then with a 5 spice chocolate dipping sauce.

Or run with the fryer and make a fritter or play on a doughnut.

Good luck

Eric

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