Profiteroles

I'm going to tell you a little secret. When it comes to my weekly meal delivery service, sometimes I will offer certain dishes on my rotating menu with the hidden agenda of making a little extra for myself, because it's something I'm personally craving. Is that bad? I don't think so.

As a personal chef I take pride in offering food that I would (and do) eat myself, because I don't really see the integrity in doing it any other way...I enjoy being able to present food to my clients that I am excited about, and I love being able to say with absolute confidence, "It's so delicious! When you're finished you're going to wish you had more!" And how would I be able to say that if I hadn't tried it?

Most of the time the food I'm excited about is colorful and vibrant; chock full of fresh, seasonal produce and energizing nutrients to fuel the body. But I'm only human, you see, prone to temptation just like everyone else. And sometimes what I want is a sugary, creamy, chocolatey dessert that's not even slightly good for you in the least bit.

Enter profiteroles, a classic French pastry made out of a dough known as choux which is hollow on the inside (and light as a cloud), filled with vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with rich chocolate ganache. Sinful, yes, but dainty enough to enjoy one or two without inducing too much guilt. I shipped most of these beauties off to clients, but kept a few for myself to take home, photograph and then promptly devour over the kitchen sink. Not so dainty of me, I know.

makes about 12 profiteroles
Ingredients
for the choux pastry:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup water
2 eggs, beaten, plus 1 egg, beaten separately (for egg wash)

for the vanilla pastry cream:
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp. sugar, plus 1 tbsp. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. butter
1 vanilla bean pod, split and seeds removed

for the chocolate ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter

Instructions
1. Make the pastry cream. In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, being careful not to scald. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2. Whisk together the egg yolk and egg in a bowl. Add the remaining tablespoon of sugar and cornstarch, whisking until smooth. Gradually add milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and add vanilla beans and pod. Cook over low heat, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Take care not to let the eggs curdle. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Remove vanilla pod, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
4. Make the choux. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and set aside.
 5. Add the butter and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add the flour mixture. Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the pan- this should only take about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Transfer the dough to an electric mixer and beat on low speed for a couple of minutes to release the steam from the dough. Add the 2 beaten eggs and continue to mix until the dough is smooth and shiny.
7. Spoon or pipe 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spaced a couple of inches apart. Smooth the top of each mound by lightly tapping with a wet fingertip. Gently brush the remaining beaten egg  on the tops of the dough with a pastry brush.
8.  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until the shells are golden. Turn the oven off and open the oven door slightly for about 10 minutes to let the shells dry out a bit more. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Make the chocolate ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl and set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
10. To assemble the profiteroles, slice the tops off of each pastry shell, fill with pastry cream and replace the top. Drizzle with warm chocolate ganache. Serve immediately.

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Brown Butter & Sea Salt Muffins

I'm a sucker for any sort of browned butter situation. If I'm out at a restaurant and I see brown butter anything on the menu, no need to continue browsing. I will have that, please. There's just something about taking an already perfect ingredient such as butter and transforming it into a totally different (yet equally perfect) entity that gets me every time. 

I think I also enjoy the languid, meditative process involved in making browned butter. So often I will whiz through my cooking lickety-split, balancing four or five different tasks at once in order to maximize efficiency. But browned butter forces you to slow down, because if you have too much going on I can promise that you will forget all about that little pot of butter melting away quietly in the background, and all of a sudden- poof! In a split second you're left with blackened, burned, ruined butter. So I take comfort in the fact that as long as you stay close by, practice a little patience and give it the occasional stir it will result in fragrant, nutty caramelized, buttery goodness every single time.

One of my favorite brown butter desserts is a tart with fresh fruit that I've made countless times, but this time I was in the mood for something of an individually sized nature. I decided to whip up a batch of muffins with brown butter, walnuts and a touch of Maldon Sea Salt- another ingredient that has me completely enamored, but I'll save my sea salt sonnet for another time. I added it to the batter of course, but also sprinkled a little on top of each muffin, and guys. Let me tell you, I went crazy for those little muffin tops! The brown butter flavor just explodes out of the top thanks to those delicate, crunchy flakes of salt.

Clearly there's already a sufficient amount of butter in these muffins so I opted to spread mine just with a simple dollop of fresh mixed berry jam. Personally I think that's all they need, but hey, if you want to add a smear of butter to your muffin, go crazy. No judgement.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Maldon sea salt, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a regular sized muffin tin with liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to brown. Remove from heat.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and sea salt in a bowl. Strain brown butter into a separate bowl and add sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Whisk to combine, then add dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Fold in walnuts, then divide evenly among muffin cups and garnish the tops with additional sea salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool slightly before serving.

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Black Bean Soup with Avocado Crema

When the craving for Mexican food hits, it hits hard. It's not something that is easily ignored, nor is it something that I can feel great about eating, but I do it anyway because I know the craving won't subside until I give in. The other day after a long hike with John left us feeling ravenous and quite deserving of something yummy, we bit the bullet. We binged on baskets of warm tortilla chips, a super-sized guacamole and like, three refills of the free black bean and corn salsa at Carlitos, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Santa Barbara. It was all well and good until our fajitas arrived and we were so stuffed we could hardly make a dent in it. Tragic.

Although we were more than happy to take home the heaps of leftovers (including the chips and salsa that we didn't manage to inhale), it got me thinking that the next time I felt a Mexican craving coming on a lighter situation was in order. This black bean soup is just that, with all the flavors I could want but  minus the food coma afterwards. It's rich in fiber and protein, and the smooth consistency makes it easy to digest. I also opted to substitute traditional sour cream with Greek yogurt, which is something I always do when making Mexican at home. It cuts on fat and calories, and I promise you will hardly notice the difference. Finish it off with a zesty avocado crema and a dollop of fresh pico de gallo. It makes the dish more so much more fun, like a little fiesta for your mouth.

makes about 6 servings
Ingredients
for the soup:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaf
2 14 oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Greek yogurt

for the avocado crema:
1/2 of a ripe avocado, mashed
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 tsp. lime juice
pinch of salt

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add garlic, carrots and scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots begin to soften (about 5 minutes).
2. Add broth, cumin, bay leaf and black beans to pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree soup using an immersion blender until smooth.
3. Season with salt and pepper and add Greek yogurt, stirring until fully combined.
4. To make the avocado crema, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
5. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with avocado crema and pico de gallo, if desired.

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