Saturday, February 21, 2009

My last practical went well. I don't have any good pics because I had to get the plates out quickly so that the ice cream wouldn't melt before it got to the judging table. The only pics I was able to take were after my desserts had been judged, so they aren't too pretty. Sorry. A few of my plate components definitely needed some tweaking, but overall it was great! I thought it tasted amazing, and I'm pretty sure my chefs liked it as well. The panna cotta and fruit salsa were delicious; I highly recommend them. Here are the recipes for both of those, and I will post the recipe for the kiwi sauce later. Enjoy!

After the dessert was already destroyed


Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta


1 Vanilla bean
4oz Sugar
2 1/3c Heavy cream
Zest of ¼ large orange or 1 small orange
2/3c Whole milk
2tsp Gelatin powder
5 Sprigs of mint for garnishing (optional)

Procedure:
1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Rub the seeds into a small portion of the sugar to distribute them evenly and break up any clumps.
2. Combine the heavy cream, vanilla bean-sugar mix, remaining sugar, vanilla bean pod, and orange zest in a saucepan. Heat to scalding, then remove from the heat and let infuse for about 30 minutes.
3. Pour the milk into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Set aside to soften.
4. Heat the milk mixture to dissolve the gelatin, then stir into the cream mixture. Heat to scalding while stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; remove and discard the vanilla bean pod halves. Let the cream mixture cool until it just begins to thicken and set, then stir gently without incorporating any air before pouring into the forms.
5. Divide the cream into 5 ramekins. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.



Strawberry-Mango Salsa

1lb 8oz Strawberries
¼c Orange Liqueur
¼c Simple Syrup (equal parts sugar and water... boil until sugar is dissolved and is completely liquid)
1/8c Water
1 Mango
1tsp Cornstarch

Procedure:

1. Wash and hull the strawberries. Cut the fruit into small, evenly sized wedges or cubes
2. Places the berries in a bowl and add the liqueur, simple syrup, and water. Toss to combine and coat the fruit pieces with the liquid. Set aside to macerate for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Peel the mango and cut the flesh away from the stone. Cut the mango into small attractive cubes, not slices. Place the cubes into a bowl and set aside for later use.
4. When ready to serve, strain the syrup from the strawberries and place the syrup in a saucepan. Remove a small amount of the syrup and mix with cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir this into the remaining syrup and bring to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool. Strain the syrup and place in a piping bottle, and reserve at room temperature.
5. In a small bowl set over a warm water bath, combine approximately 2 parts strawberries to 1 part mango to make just enough salsa for the number of servings needed.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Recipes! Just what I've always wanted. Just wondering how I can use that without it being stupid...

Carly said...

That panna cotta looks amazing! It is one of my favorite desserts but I have never made it. After looking at your dessert I am tempted to go in my kitchen right now and make it!

Melissa said...

Totally making this...

mădălina said...

my goodness. i am in love with you blog:p
xo

Haley said...

thanks!!