The Battle of the Pies

This is a picture of the Vanilla Pudding Mousse Pie. I'm sorry, but I didn't take one of the Milk Mousse Pie - it was gone too fast. It looked the same, though, except that the mousse was a pure, snowy white.

You don't know this about me, but I almost always manage to screw up easy things. I have no explanation for this. I did it with this cake, for example, which I salvaged by turning it into cake pops. I've also managed to ruin another supposedly easy Dorie Greenspan cake since, but I didn't blog about it (I was embarrassed). Funny enough, I've never failed when trying something complicated for the first time. This said, you might understand why I usually go for the more advanced recipes when baking. And sometimes, that tendency of mine makes my life more complicated than it needs to be.
Why am I telling you this? Well, I was asked to make this the other day. I brought back a box from New York last summer and my friends loved it.
Problem: They don't sell the stuff in this country. You can order it online, but it's way too expensive. Once again, it was do it yourself or forget about eating it again.
Second problem: I didn't have a recipe. And while there are tons of mousse recipes out there, I didn't find one for a milk mousse that didn't contain either chocolate or cream cheese, which I figured would be the kind of mousse I'd need. I initially figured I could just dissolve gelatin in milk, then add whipped cream. But then I began to doubt myself, thinking it just couldn't be that easy. There had to be some secret ingredient or at least some complicated step involved.
So instead, I picked this vanilla mousse recipe for my pie filling (scroll down). Since it involves tempering yolks and whisking vigorously, it seemed complicated enough to be bound to be a success. See where it says "pastry cream"? That's actually pudding. I didn't catch on to the fact that I was making pudding until it had happened.
So I ended up with pudding mousse pie. I didn't screw it up and it was very good, just not what I had been looking for.
I was a little disappointed as I went back to my room. I was also determined to master the no-bake pie. Fortunately, I had used my mini springform pan the first time around, because I hadn't been sure if I'd have enough mousse for a 9-inch pan. I had only used up half of the crumbs, so there was still enough left to give it another try
This time, I went with my very first instinct. Turns out it really was that easy. And how convenient to find out that the New York Times had published a recipe since I first started looking. I love the New York Times.


Pie Crust (makes enough for one 9-inch or two 6-inch springform pans):

• 335 g (3 cups) Quadruple Chocolate Almond Cookies, finely crushed (or similar non-chewy dark chocolate cookie)
  
• 53 g (4 Tablespoons) butter

- Line the springform pan(s) with parchment paper.

- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat (butter should not separate).

- Add cookie crumbs.

- Mix until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

- Spoon mixture into prepared pan(s), press into pan with bottom of drinking glass or back of tablespoon.

- Refrigerate until needed.

- Then fill pie crust with mousse and refrigerate again until firm.

- To remove pie from the pan, run a knife under hot water, then wipe dry. Run it around the edges of the pie to loosen it, then remove springform ring. You can now carefully transfer the whole pie to a cake stand.


Vanilla Pudding Mousse Pie Filling (it's originally part of a French Yule Log recipe from Florilege Gourmand; I found it at Good Eats'n Sweets):

• 1 vanilla bean
• 135 ml (1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon) 2 % milk
• 215 ml (1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons) heavy cream*
• 4 egg yolks
• 80 g (6 Tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 4 g (2 sheets/4 teaspoons) fish gelatin
• 25 g (3 Tablespoons) cornstarch, sifted
• Another 240 ml (1 cup) whipping cream*

- Pour milk and 215 ml cream into a saucepan.

- Split vanilla bean in half, scrape out the seeds and add both the seeds and the vanilla bean to the pot as well.

- Bring the mixture to a boil, then take it off the heat, cover with a lid and let it infuse for at least 30 minutes. When the time is up, remove the vanilla bean.

- In a medium bowl, whip egg yolks and sugar until white, thick and fluffy.

- Add the sifted cornstarch while whisking to make sure there are no lumps.

- Whisking vigorously, gradually add some of the warm milk mixture to the eggs to temper them.

- Put the vanilla milk back on the stove (medium heat) and slowly add the egg mixture, whisking vigorously to keep it from curdling.

- Keep whisking until the mixture starts to thicken considerably.

- When the mixture starts to boil, leave it on for only 2 more minutes. Afterwards, keep whisking and remove from heat.

- Now either put your pot into a cold water bath, stirring very frequently to prevent a skin from forming, until the mixture has come to room temperature.

- Or cover the pastry cream by putting plastic wrap directly on its surface. This will also prevent a skin from forming. Let cool at room temperature. I'm impatient, so I used the former method.

- For gelatin sheets: Let soak in cold water, then melt in a saucepan with 1 teaspoon of water. For powdered gelatin: Sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of water, let it bloom, then melt as described above. Don't let the gelatin boil!

- Pour melted gelatin over pastry cream, stir very well.

- Whisk 240 ml whipping cream until stiff peaks form, then gradually add it to the cream. Fold it in carefully with a silicone spatula.

- Pour mousse into prepared pie crust and refrigerate until firm (at least 3 hours, preferably overnight).

*I have never understood the difference between heavy cream and whipping cream (is there even a difference?). We only have one kind of sweet cream in Germany that I know of, so that's what I used.

This is a very good pie filling. It tastes like a rich, milky vanilla pudding/custard and it has a similar creamy mouthfeel, but it's much much lighter (tastewise. I'm afraid it contains about a million calories). It doesn't produce the gunk in your throat that I often get from eating very creamy desserts. It's sweet, but not throat-searingly so. Very good. I wonder why I was so upset at first. However, it's a good thing I was, because otherwise I wouldn't have made Mousse Filling 2.0. Here's the recipe:


Milk Mousse Pie Filling (adapted from the NYT, June 17th, 2009); double the recipe for a 9-inch springform pan:

• 240 ml (1 cup) milk, divided
  
• 1.5 teaspoons powdered fish gelatin (sooo much better than agar-agar!); I would use 2 teaspoons next time, the mousse was a little on the soft side
  
• 1 pinch salt
• 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar

- Sprinkle gelatin over 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk.

- Scald the other 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk with salt and sugar.

- Whisk hot milk into cold milk until gelatin has dissolved.

- Chill until not quite set (about 1.5-2 hours).

- Whisk cream until stiff peaks form.

- Using a rubber/silicone spatula, fold cream into the milk jelly.

- Fill mousse into prepared pie crust and chill until set completely (preferably overnight).

This makes an extremely light, milky mousse. It isn't very sweet at all and there's no artificial taste to it, in fact, I think the taste can best be described as "pure". In combination with the pie crust, it basically tastes like deep chocolate cookies with a glass of cool milk - but more sophisticated.

Conclusion:
We ended up with so much pie that we decided we'd have a big pie testing to determine which one was better. So I invited some friends over to be my jurors. I don't think I've ever witnessed a group of my friends fighting over dessert. Both pies were a huge success. And the final verdict? Undecided. Most of the guys preferred the pudding mousse pie, while most of the girls said they liked the milk mousse pie just a tad better, at least during the hot summer months. They also mentioned they'd like a strawberry coulis with it next time. I think that's an awesome idea.
It was decided I'd had to make both pies again. And more!
Oh, and btw, we all agreed that neither pie tasted like the boxed version. Personally, I think that's a good thing.

Semolina dumplings in chicken soup (Grießnockerlsuppe)

I came across this post over at Israeli Kitchen, which asked what people were having for Shabbat. I left a comment and Mimi expressed interest in my Grießnockerl recipe. Of course, I'm more than happy to comply.
This is probably the dish I eat the most. Well, not quite, buttered bread comes first, but this hearty soup with fluffy semolina dumplings is a very close second. I eat it every Friday.
One of my earliest food-related memories is visiting my grandma's house and always finding a pot of this soup on the stove. She would serve it to us sprinkled with chives (which I hated at the time) in her delicate china bowls, which had been heated in the oven. Those bowls were small, almost transparent affairs that we weren't allowed to touch at home, because my mom was afraid we'd break them. But at my grandma's, we were always given the benefit of the doubt. No plastic dishes at her house. Of course, we also used real silver cutlery and cloth napkins, even for a weekday breakfast. My grandma was one classy woman.
My other grandma, interestingly enough, used to make a version of these to put in her (tangy sweet) elderberry soup. Her recipe is dairy, though, and sweet.
Anyway, nowadays, I still make this soup every Friday for Shabbat. It really is dead easy to make, once you get the hang of it. This recipe makes 7 big dumplings, enough for 4 very hungry adults.

Taiba's Grießnockerl (I don't usually measure, hence the odd amounts):

• 56 g margarine, room temperature
  
• 2 medium eggs
  
• 135 g semolina
  
• 1 level teaspoon of salt
  
• a generous pinch of ground nutmeg
• about 2 litres (8.5 US cups) of your favorite broth (I usually use chicken, but I used beef this time because it was also an ingredient in the main dish)
  
• 4 medium carrots
  
• a very small bunch of chives for serving (optional, but recommended)

-Cream the margarine in a medium mixing bowl.

-Add the eggs, salt and nutmeg.

-Mix well. There should be no visible chunks of margarine.

-Add the semolina and stir until well combined.

-Cover the bowl of dumpling batter with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

-Bring some lightly salted water to a simmer. A wide pot works better than a deep and narrow one. I don't put the pot on the stove until the 30 minutes are up, so my batter rests for a total of approximately 40-45 minutes.

-When your water is ready, shape dumplings one by one using two tablespoons and drop them into the simmering water right away. You want your dumplings to have as smooth a surface as possible. Too many cracks or holes will let water seep in, which causes the dumplings to split or even fall apart (this still happens to mine sometimes!). The splitting doesn't affect the taste, though, so don't worry if it happens to yours.
You want your shaped dumplings to look something like this:



-Let them simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Afterwards, remove from heat, cover the pot with a lid and let the dumplings sit for another 15 minutes. Don't remove the lid during that time.

-While the dumplings are cooking, wash and peel the carrots and cut them into slices of even thickness (about 1/4 inch thick). Bring your broth to a simmer, add the carrot slices and cook until they are soft, but not mushy (al dente, in other words). This should take about 10 minutes.

-Remove the carrots from the broth and cover them until you're ready to use them.

-When your dumplings are done, remove them from the pot using a slotted spoon. If you're not sure whether they are really done, insert a knife in the center of one. It should be met with very little resistance. Or cut the biggest dumpling in half. There should be no hard yellow center left. If there is, give them another 5 minutes.

To serve:

-Put one or two dumplings per person into a deep dish, add a tablespoon of carrot slices and about two ladlefuls of broth.

-Sprinkle with chopped chives.

-Serve right away.

Notes:

• The term "semolina", "Grieß" in German, is used quite deliberately and can apply to different products. There's corn semolina (used to make polenta), kasha semolina and oat semolina, to name just a few.
  

• To make things more complicated, there are also different kinds of wheat semolina. There's the "hard" (durum) kind, which is primarily used in savoury dishes, and there's the "soft" semolina ("Cream of Wheat"), which is used in porridges, puddings and baby food. This recipe uses semolina made from durum wheat because it holds together better and provides a better bite than soft semolina would. Watch out, though, it's not couscous! While couscous is also made from durum wheat, it's a lot coarser.
  

• Now that you're thoroughly confused, let me tell you that it's actually not that complicated. The semolina you use for this recipe is the same kind that is used for making pasta or for sprinkling bread or pizza dough before baking. It's called Semola di grano duro in Italian.
  

• Put the dumplings in your soup right before serving. Don't let them sit in the broth for extended periods of time, otherwise they will become soggy. However, cooked dumplings can sit uncovered for a while, so you can put them on the table in a separate little bowl if you want to make them ahead of time. They will heat up nicely when you pour hot soup over them. Once they've been in the refrigerator, though, I would cut them into smaller pieces before putting them in the soup to make sure their centers don't remain cold.

• Don't cover steaming hot dumplings with plastic wrap. It makes them soggy and disgusting. It's better to let them cool uncovered before you cover them. They will develop a kind of skin which disappears when you put them in soup and becomes a nice crust when you fry them.
  

• Leftover dumplings can be stored covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days and can be reheated in the microwave. They can also be frozen easily, says my mom. I've never had to do that, though.
  

• Leftover dumplings can be sliced, pan-fried and served with a variety of dishes, for example ratatouille. They are also good diced, fried and sprinkled over a salad, stew or thick soup. The boyfriend likes them fried and served with scrambled eggs. I prefer them pan-fried and covered in gravy. They are quite versatile.
  

• These are very filling (also very large). I recommend serving only one dumpling per person if you have a main course planned.
  

Onion-Vegetable Soup (a.k.a. Leftover Vegetable Soup)

I like to plan elaborate dinners sometimes, but yesterday, I just needed something to warm me up. I know, it's the middle of June, but the weather has been horrible and I'd had a long day at school. Some emotional warming was in order, in addition to physical warming.
I really just wanted to go to bed, but I was also hungry. Plus, we had a whole bunch of vegetables that were threatening to go bad if I didn't do something with them that night.
This soup is something I have been making variations of ever since I started cooking. The beauty of it is how forgiving it is. There's really no way to screw it up. Plus, you can basically throw any vegetable in there and it will taste great.
I feel a little stupid posting this recipe, because it's so easy, but since stuff like this is what I eat way more often than I eat complicated dishes, I will anyway.

I used:

- 2 large and a small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 of a zucchini (or is it zucchino?)
- about 150 g (5 ounces) button mushrooms
- a handful of dried tomatos (if you use the kind in oil, use a paper towel to remove excess oil)
- some parsley (a small bunch)
- a spoonful of sour cream or crème fraîche
- a few very thin slices of strong cheese (I used raclette cheese)
- beef or vegetable broth (1 Liter/1 Quart), I used vegetable
- a bay leaf
- 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper and powdered sweet pepper

You could also use rosemary, thyme, fresh or canned tomatos, peas, all kinds of beans, rice, pasta, celery, cabbage, wine, carrots or whatever strikes your fancy. I have used all of the above at one time or another in the past.

• Peel and halve the onions and slice them up.
  
• Peel the garlic and finely chop it.
• Clean the mushrooms and slice them.
  
• Wash the zucchini and chop it roughly.
• Sautée the onions and the garlic in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil for approximately 5 minutes. They are supposed to become soft.
  
• Add the tomato paste and let it roast for a few minutes.
  
• Add the zucchini (and any "hard" vegetables you're using, like carrots). Stir.
• Add the bay leave and any "hard" herbs like rosemary. "Soft" herbs like parsley should be sprinkled over the top of the soup right before serving.
  
• Add the wine and let it simmer for a few minutes (if you're using it). If not, add the broth right away.
• Add the mushrooms (and any "soft" vegetables you're using, like frozen peas, fresh tomatos, etc.)
  
• Cook the soup for 10-15 minutes. Your hard vegetables should be soft, but not mushy.

• If you're using dried tomatos (sans oil), boil some water (I use an electric kettle). In the meantime, roughly chop the tomatos and put them in a small bowl. Cover them with the boiling water and let them soak for 2 minutes.

• Finely chop the parsley.

• Place a few thin slices of cheese in a bowl or a deep dish.

• Add a dollop of sour cream/crème fraîche, if you like.

• Pour the piping hot soup into the dish, on top of the cheese and crème fraîche. Add the soaked dried tomatos.
  

• Sprinkle some parsley over the soup.

• Serve with buttered bread.