We have come out of our pandemic quarantine hibernation to create some NYE goodies. Gougères are just a fancy French name for a cheese puff. They’re a savory choux pastry, which uses the same dough as an éclair. Despite their hollow appearance and light, fluffy texture, this savory cheese puff is a luxurious bite, made from egg, butter, and gruyere cheese.
1 cup shedded Gruyère cheese, plus more for sprinkling
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.
Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool for 1 minute. Beat the eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly between each one. Add the cheese and a pinch each of pepper and nutmeg.
Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (I simply cut the piping bag and didn’t get too fussy about it) and piped tablespoon-size mounds onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze. Reheat in a 350° oven until piping hot.
In New York, there is a quintessential immigrant confection, the rainbow cookie also known as the tricolore cookie, seven layer cookie, Venetian cookie, Napoleon cookie, etc. While its origins are somewhat disputed, there’s no doubt that these little piccola pasticceria are popular in both Italian and Jewish bakeries in the tri-state area especially around the holidays.
While almond flavored desserts are very popular in Northern Italy, there is no trace of these cookies originating from Italy. Instead, its said to have been created by Italian immigrants in New York. Jewish immigrants in New York put their own twist on these classic cookies, by converting the recipe to be pareve, mainly by swapping margarine for butter. Additionally, there can also be swaps for the AP flour for matzoh or almond flour.
I have very fond memories of these types of cookies growing up, longingly eying the tray of rainbow treats in my local bakery or digging through the cookie platter during family events to find the prized rainbow cookie, usually of which there were only 3 or 4 in each platter.
In our episode today, we talk about the cold case of Mandy Stavik, whose murder was miraculously solved 30 years later by a gutsy Bakery worker, Kim Wagner.
I found this recipe through Deb from Smitten Kitchen which was first printed in Gourmet Magazine back in 2005. The recipe is fairly simple, one which I actually think could be simplified further by not having to meringue the egg whites separately, and instead by aerating the eggs at the start.
YIELD: Makes about 5 dozen cookies ACTIVE TIME: 1 1/2 hours TOTAL TIME: 11 hours
1 (12-oz) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
PREPARATION
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan and line bottom with wax paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 ends, then butter paper.
Beat whites in mixer fitted with whisk attachment at medium-high speed until they just hold stiff peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating at high speed until whites hold stiff, slightly glossy peaks. Transfer to another bowl.
Switch to paddle attachment, then beat together almond paste and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add butter and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and almond extract and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and salt and mix until just combined.
Fold half of egg white mixture into almond mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
Divide batter among 3 bowls. Stir red food coloring into one and green food coloring into another, leaving the third batch plain. Set white batter aside. Chill green batter, covered. Pour red batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with offset spatula (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick).
Bake red layer 8 to 10 minutes, until just set. (It is important to undercook.)
Using paper overhang, transfer layer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Clean pan, then line with wax paper and butter paper in same manner as above. Bake white layer in prepared pan until just set. As white layer bakes, bring green batter to room temperature. Transfer white layer to a rack. Prepare pan as above, then bake green layer in same manner as before. Transfer to a rack to cool.
When all layers are cool, invert green onto a wax-paper-lined large baking sheet. Discard paper from layer and spread with half of preserves. Invert white on top of green layer, discarding paper. Spread with remaining preserves. Invert red layer on top of white layer and discard wax paper.
Cover with plastic wrap and weight with a large baking pan. Chill at least 8 hours.
Remove weight and plastic wrap. Bring layers to room temperature. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Keep chocolate over water.
Trim edges of assembled layers with a long serrated knife. Quickly spread half of chocolate in a thin layer on top of cake. Chill, uncovered, until chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and place another baking sheet on top, then invert cake onto sheet and remove paper. Quickly spread with remaining chocolate. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Cut lengthwise into 4 strips. Cut strips crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide cookies. We found that dipping a serrated knife in hot water and wiping the knife dry before cutting help prevent any major cracking of the chocolate shell. It takes a bit longer, but you preserve the look of each individual cookie.
Spreading the melted chocolate is the most satisfying step
Cooks’ note: Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks.
Enjoy these. We won’t judge you if you eat the whole tray, but you’re going to be very popular if you share these with friends.
In this episode of Caviar and Cadavers, we bring it back to Long Island, our OG stomping ground.
His name is Richard Angelo, a young man with a do gooder record. He was an Eagle Scout, a volunteer fireman, and RN at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, NY. During his brief stint at the hospital, Richard worked the graveyard shift, injecting unsuspecting patients with unprescribed skeletal muscle relaxers and coming in to “save” their lives in a sick attempt to gain heroic recognition.
Now that we’re not living on Long Island, we grow homesick for some quintessential things — namely a local neighborhood deli (shout out to the Malverne Deli) and with it, the BEC. That’s right folks, the unassuming breakfast sandwich. Bacon egg and cheese on a roll, understood to be a Kaiser roll in any NY deli. “Salt, pepper, ketchup with that?” The universal follow up to that order.
The true hero of the breakfast sandwich is the trusty vessel, the roll. It’s sturdy enough to handle a runny yolk on your commute on the LIRR to Penn Station. These round rolls, with their five point pinwheel design, are crisp on the outside, and airy on the inside. Sadly, these rolls outside of New York and New Jersey are usually dense and one textured, resembling store bought mass produced hamburger buns.
Avocado egg and cheese on the king of rolls – from the Malverne Deli circa 2016
To attempt this textural paradox, we spent a lot of time researching what separates these rolls from the sad sesame seed hamburger bun. There are tons of recipes out there pretending to be a Kaiser roll, but when anyone in the comments noted it was the perfect hamburger bun, it was thrown in a trash immediately.
What we found was you need barley malt, a ridiculously long initial rise time (2-2/12 hours) and you need to bake with steam. We leveraged a mix of Karen Kerr’s and Tamar Marvin’s recipes and made modifications after two trials.
Dough Ingredients
625 grams bread flour
315 grams of lukewarm water
2 tablespoons canola oil
30 grams egg (approximately 1/2 large egg)
2 1/4 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. barley malt syrup
1 Tbsp instant yeast
2 Tsp salt
Topping
2 tsp. Medium grit corn meal
2 tsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of your ingredients except for the salt and mix on low speed for 2 minutes with the paddle attachment.
Add the salt and mix another 1 minute on low.
Replace the paddle attachment with your dough hook and knead for 10 more minutes.
Remove the dough and form into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough into the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and leave to rise for 2 ½ hours.
When risen, turn out the dough and divide into 10 equal pieces (I probably should have gone for 11). Shape the pieces into round balls. Place them carefully onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for and additional 15 minutes.
Place a steam pan on the bottom rack of the oven and a baking stone (or upside down baking sheet if you don’t have a baking stone) on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Heat your oven to 450 degrees F.
Flatten the dough balls into 6 inch rounds. Make sure to keep the dough balls you’re not working on covered. Dust the round and your work station with white rye flour.
Place your thumb in the center of the circle and fold the 9 o’clock side over your thumb and press it into the center.
Leaving your thumb in place, fold the 11 o’clock corner into the center and press it down on top of the first fold. Follow the same steps for 1 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 5 o’clock.
Remove your thumb and fold the remaining dough point under the first fold and press.
Place the shaped rolls, pleat side down on a damp towel that has been sprinkled with the poppy seeds and corn meal.
Cover the rolls and let them rise for 30 minutes.
Flip the rolls over, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, pleat side up and allow to rise an additional 15 minutes.
Place sheet pan with the rolls on top of the baking stone (or upside down baking sheet) and pour the two cups of boiling water to the steam pan. CLOSE THE OVEN DOOR QUCKLY TO TRAP THE STEAM IN THE OVEN. Bake the rolls for 16 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Rolls are best enjoyed the day of baking. Happy eating!
In our series premiere of Caviar and Cadavers, we introduce you to the mysterious wave of severed feet washing up on the shores of British Columbia.
Beginning in 2007 and for the next 10+years, over 20 feet sporting athletic sneakers or hiking shoes were showing up along the shores of the Salish Sea. As the number of feet began amassing, the theories circulating on how and why they got there also gained a foothold in the Canadian media.
Lace up your trainers, and head over to our YouTube channel for our premiere.
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3/4 to 1 cup of crushed Ritz crackers
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh curly parsley
1 pound fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, drained of liquids
olive oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, mayo, and your “spice bomb”, which includes the Dijon, Worcestershire, Tabasco, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Add parsley to combine. Carefully fold in the crab meat, taking care not to break up the large lumps of crab. Add the cracker crumbs 1/4 cup at a time and combine. Continue to add the crumbs until the mixture begins to just stay packed together.
With wet hands, start making small crab cake patties. Do not pack too firmly, but just enough for the cakes to hold their shape. Place crab cakes on a prepared baking sheet – you can use a silpat or spray with cooking oil.
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven. After 4 minutes of cooking, flip the cakes gently with a spatula and your hands taking care not to break apart the cakes. Cook another 3 minutes or until golden. Serve with lemon and some spicy mayo (Sriracha, mayonnaise, and sesame oil).
Caviar and Cadavers 