The Supreme eGullet Pastry and Baking Challenge (Round 12)

[Kouign Aman]

I think Wensleydale might be nice as a dessert component. Its very crisp and tangy, hard & a bit crumbly. I think it would go well with some kind of concentrated fruit flavor.

[Pontormo]

So thanks to EG, we booked a reservation at Jean Georges for their incredible lunch deal... The whole experience was incredible...

amuse bouche...Parmesan panna cotta (this was my favourite--so little gelatin was used to set it, yet the lines were absolutely perfect!)...

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Editor's note: Reference is to the pristine square in the middle of this lovely trio, in this case. This is lifted from the regional forum for New York, a record of Henry & Lorna's trip to the city.

[Pontormo]

Dessert was roasted pears with red wine, honey, and parmigiano:

If you've never tried this type of dessert before, I urge you to do so.  It's one of those "synchronicity" dishes where everything comes together and creates a whole new flavor and experience that is more than the sum of its parts. The pear flesh takes on an almost custardy texture after being in the oven; the clove-spiked red wine picks up the runoff from the pear, the parmigiano adds little nutty, salty notes, and the honey melds everything together.

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I forgot to add this, from the Italian regional forum. I made this too, though without cloves. Fantastic. (Source: Mario Batali; recipe on Food Network, show from Molto Mario on lasagna, I believe.)

[K8memphis]

Just an FYI - while I'm still thinking about all this, my son gave me the stomach flu, so it'll be a couple of days until I'll be up to any actual experimentation.

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Baby Sugar! Take your time with the challenge.

We and it can wait, no worries.

Hope y'all are feeling better.

[s_sevilla]

parmesan water would be perfect for this challenge.

[tammylc]

I'm thoroughly recovered from the flu (although I fear I've acquired a sinus infection). So I'm back in the saddle again.

On the theory that your first instinct is usually right, my plans haven't really changed from some of the first ideas I had when I read the challenge. So, on my way into work this morning I stopped by an excellent produce market to pick up some grapes. After work, I went to Morgan and York to try some cheeses. Someone upthread mentioned Zingerman's, and it is an excellent place to buy cheese. But the cheese at Morgan and York (formerly Big Ten Party Store, for any Ann Arbor alum) is as good (and sometimes better), and it's not the madhouse that Zing would be this time of year.

I was looking for the best blue cheese to pair with grapes. I took a pocket full of grapes with me so I could actually taste on the fly. The service there is always excellent, so my cheesemonger totally took my grape munching in stride, and we chatted about my plans for the challenge. I tasted some Stilton, some Cashel Blue, a virgin wheel of Valdeon, and a nice Roquefort. In the end, I decided that the Stilton had all the attributes I was looking for.

Then it was on to cheddars. Although I was really looking for something English, my cheesemonger couldn't let me get away with not trying a domestic cheddar that they are very fond of. If memory serves, it was the second from the bottom cheese on this page. It was really good, but not assertive enough to stand up to my plans. Neither was the Keen's Farmhouse cheddar or the Big Ten Cheddar (produced specially for them). No, it had to be the Montgomery, which has a little bit of blueing of its own, and a sharp, assertive complexity.

While I was there, I tried the 5-year aged gouda, and it is exactly as reminscent of the Carlos VII as I thought it would be. So now I'm toying around with that idea again, and got a 1/3 of a lb to bring home and play with. Angling off of one of Pontormo's inspirational pics above, I'm pondering poaching pears in the sherry and somehow pairing that with the gouda. I'll keep you all posted.

Right now, however, it's time to go make some port-glazed walnuts and a gelato base...

[tammylc]

Oh, and so far I've had no luck finding a challenger for next week. It's a really tough week, starting on Christmas and running until New Year's. Unless anyone wants to PM me to volunteer, I propose that we skip next week and I can start hitting up the "after the holidays" list of volunteers... Anyone have a strong objection to that?

[tammylc]

Here are the results of tonight's big push to the finish line!

On the left, red grapes on the stem, covered in Stilton and rolled in chopped port-glazed walnuts. You can see some of the whole walnuts scattered around the sauce. The sauce is the reduction of the glazing liquid, and has port, sugar, black pepper and bay leaf. On the right, a Seckel pear, which was roasted in a baking dish with a mixture of Carlos VII and sugar at the bottom. That was used as a basting liquid, and later reduced to the caramel sauce. Lying jauntily against the pear is a crisp of 5-year Boerenkaas aged gouda. And a few toasted hazelnuts for good measure.

I invited a few friends over to kibbitz and taste. Here are their comments, so you'll have some idea of the flavors as well as the looks!

Dave: There is great synergy in the pear-sherry-hazelnut-cheese combination. Not only is the pear taste accentuated, but you get an added taste of fig, and a nutty flavor that comes not just from the nuts, but from the cheese wafer, that finishes with a smoky, almost a charcoal taste.

The combination of Stilton cheese and grapes did not work as well, not because of any discordance in the tastes, but I believe because of texture. The grapes are too watery to be paired with this cheese.  I recommend chilling the grapes first to firm them up.

Beth: you can never go wrong with Stilton in my book, and the combination of Stilton and 'ported' walnuts was a fantastic combination of sweet and shocking-salty.  however the taste of the grape itself was lost.  i found that drizzling further with the port reduction added back a nice, fruity flavor.

the pear-gouda had a nice nutty taste as well - i've never had an aged gouda, and the process intensified the nutty flavor that worked well with the pear. 

Hope: the stilton-grape-ported walnut combination was absolutely delightful - the delicacy of the grape wasn't overwhelmed by the stilton, and the walnuts gave a wonderful contrasty texture. There could've been a little more of the port reduction sauce, which had a wonderful flavor.  The pear-gouda-sherry reduction combo was a little too sweet for my tastes, but the gouda laces set off the sweetness very nicely, and were very tasty all on their own. There were some delightful Montgomery cheddar 'eclairs' that were wonderful, but sadly didn't work with the red wine gelato - though both were very good on their own. All in all, a wonderful evening - it's so much fun being one of Tammy's 'guinea pigs'!

Thanks Klary for such a fun challenge!

[CanadianBakin']

Great job! I think it would have been fun to be a tester as well.

I don't think anyone will mind waiting a week for the next challenge.

[dejaq]

Very nice, well done, looks delish...this is the type of dessert we really look forward to this time of the year, I can only imagine the flavor profile, I think you made some terrific combinations, and went well with trusting your instincts.

Michael

[Kerry Beal]

A beautifully executed challenge. And tasting notes no less. What a great addition.

My tasters just got bits and pieces of my dessert, it would have seemed more complete to have them taste the finished dessert and comment.

I'm not surprised you had no luck finding a new contestant. I had a lot of trouble even a few weeks back. The new year should be more promising.

Now what did you think of your dessert?

[tammylc]

A beautifully executed challenge.  And tasting notes no less.  What a great addition. 

Thanks. I'm all about tasting, so it seemed appropriate.

My tasters just got bits and pieces of my dessert, it would have seemed more complete to have them taste the finished dessert and comment.

I should note that they were part of the development process, tasting things as I went along, as well as the final dessert. As Hope mentions below, I'd made a couple of other items as well - a red wine gelato and a Montgomery Cheddar gougere - but they didn't end up working together or with the other components. Both are tasty, however. Well, I didn't like the red wine gelato, but everyone else thought it was fabulous.

Now what did you think of your dessert?

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My comments: I over-reduced both sauces, which made it easy to make them stay where I wanted on the plate, but made them too sticky and sweet for good eating - I'd correct that in the future. The pear-gouda-sherry combo worked as well in reality as it did in my head, so that was cool. I'm with Dave and Beth on the issue of the grapes - the Stilton did overwhelm the grape. I think because the amount of Stilton needed to wrap the grape made it too much. I probably should have done what most recipes suggest and cut the Stilton with cream cheese. If I make these for a party sometime (and I might - they are tasty and unusual), I will do that. And chill them - these ones warmed up while I was getting everything else ready. Oh, and the plate needed more of the port sauce for that amount of grapes/cheese.

The two parts of the plate didn't really go together, but neither did they clash. If I was serving the pear on it's own, I would do it in a little bowl, because then I could use the unreduced sauce, and that would be very tasty. And while the crisp was fun and made for a nice presentation, I think some of the sweet butterscotchy flavor of the aged gouda was lost, so I'd just do shavings of the cheese.

Oh, and given Klary's reasons for giving me this challenge, I should note that the Alvear Carlos VII was a great wine pairing for this course.

[Domestic Goddess]

Tammy, I would like to congratulate you for your pretty and I bet, fabulous tasting dessert. Like what the others had said, I wish I had teletaste and sample your wonderful creation.

[Pontormo]

Tammy: So pretty! I am glad you roasted a pear, skin on, isn't it fantastic? I know you are disappointed with the gouda frico-chip, but I have to say it's beautiful. Reminds me a bit of tuilles, so perhaps a thin, lacy buttery cookie? I have a wedge to make Klary's Dutch cheese-crepes now and I bet it would be spectacular in ice cream, too, perhaps with the overly reduced wine syrup streaked through--a new Ben & Jerry's flavor!!!

PS Would you say more about the Carlos VII? I am utterly ignorant.

Edited December 23, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[tammylc]

Tammy:  So pretty!  I am glad you roasted a pear, skin on, isn't it fantastic?  I know you are disappointed with the gouda frico-chip, but I have to say it's beautiful.  Reminds me a bit of tuilles, so perhaps a thin, lacy buttery cookie?  I have a wedge to make Klary's Dutch cheese-crepes now and I bet it would be spectacular in ice cream, too, perhaps with the overly reduced wine syrup streaked through--a new Ben & Jerry's flavor!!!

PS  Would you say more about the Carlos VII?  I am utterly ignorant.

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I wouldn't say I was disappointed with the gouda frico - they are very, very tasty. It's just that the cheese was better on its own. And as you say - it made for a beautiful presentation.

Things I played around with and never got to try (I'm still suffering from a sinus infection and have had limited energy) included a gouda ice cream and a gouda foam. I like your idea of incorporating the sauce into an ice cream - I would add some butter or cream to make it more caramely.

Alvear Carlos VII is a Amontillado style sherry made with all Pedro Ximenex grapes. It's really quite an extraordinary wine. Here's a piece of the tasting note given out at the wine dinner where I first tried it:

The nose implies butterscotch and caramel, suggesting a sweet syrup the palate will quickly deny. On the tongue salt, like soy, and an iodine tinge, like an Islay scotch or a rush of sea water, rise and rush through the mouth until the flavors of toasted hazelnut develop, lingerly lightly on the protracted finish.

This is one of the best written tasting notes ever, as it perfectly describes the wine. And, if you're familiar with aged gouda, you'll understand why I couldn't help but think of putting the two together. It's the ultimate cheese wine, pairing beautfiully with everything I've ever tried to serve it with.

There's only about 200 cases a year exported into the US, but fortunately a wine seller near me carries it. At $20 for a 500 ml bottle, it's well worth the money. And since it's oxidized already, it keeps well after being opened - there's no rush to drink it up.

[KarenSherwood]

I think Wensleydale might be nice as a dessert component. Its very crisp and tangy, hard & a bit crumbly. I think it would go well with some kind of concentrated fruit flavor.

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I just found this, late to the party as usual. (I'm still learning my way around here.) I agree on the Wensleydale! My favorite cheesemonger offers Wensleydale with cranberries or Wenslydale with apricots on a fairly regular basis.

If that's too overtly sweet, one of my other favorite treats is a thin piece of Iberico or an aged sharp cheddar with a tiny spoonful of quince paste. Sweet and creamy-tangy all at the same time.

Edited December 23, 2006 by KarenSherwood (log)

[alanamoana]

Tammy, you did a great job! Congratulations!

Based on some of your comments with regard to the pear and gouda: shave raw pear and shave the cheese, toss with a little bit of the sauce (unreduced) and serve along with the gouda frico. that way you get flavor layering with the uncooked cheese and the frico. the freshness of raw pear and the cooked sauce. sort of like a pear and cheese salad.

overall, i think you really took the idea and ran with it and it came out well. the fun part of these challenges (for me) has been seeing how someone interprets the dessert and then when they're done, the way they (and everyone else) analyzes it and how they'd do it differently. somehow, coming up with even more ideas for something they might not have tried had they not been challenged to do so in the first place.

have a happy holiday and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

[tammylc]

Thanks, alanamoana! I agree - I wouldn't ever have thought of combining that particular wine and cheese in this way, and now I'm thinking of serving a variation on the pear-gouda combo as the cheese course for my New Year's Eve dinner.

One of my favorite parts of the challenge was having the opportunity to play around with plating. I love the idea of all of that, but it doesn't fit into my usual routines very well, so it was great to have an excuse. Unfortunately, the finished items were too big to fit nicely on the great rectangular and oval plates I picked up at the dollar store (!!) this week. They're more one-bite kind of plates.

[chiantiglace]

Wow, I am surprised we are having so much trouble finding people to take up a challenge. I know everyone is spending time with their families but a lot of us are having a little more free time then a couple weeks ago. I wish I could have switched the challenge week to now, I have tons more time now than I did nearly 2 months ago.

[miladyinsanity]

Wow, I am surprised we are having so much trouble finding people to take up a challenge.  I know everyone is spending time with their families but a lot of us are having a little more free time then a couple weeks ago.  I wish I could have switched the challenge week to now, I have tons more time now than I did nearly 2 months ago.

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Um, so do I, but I think it's a case of us both being single without family?

I'm not volunteering. I'm supposed to be studying.

[K8memphis]

Tammy, I think your desserts are awesome. You did a great job despite you & yours being under the weather simultaneously. I want to try your pear dish. And I think chef-boy will be very intrigued with the grapes.

Anthony, why don't you do it again??

But I think another reason we might can't find people is the bar is seemingly set pretty high. But once you get into it really it's hard to wade through all the ideas that get spawned and just narrow it down and do it. You totally get a thousand ideas all bouncing off each other.

Y'know, keeping it simple is ok too.

It's not my particular forte, but it's a good idea!

Edited December 25, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Wow! Another fab looking and sounding dessert.

[tammylc]

The next challenger is Kouign Aman. The new thread is here.