Wednesday, July 20, 2011

David Tennant and Catherine Tate!

This month is running past quickly. I've been being miserable, which always cuts down on communication in all forms. Thankfully I have amazing friends and there have been exciting happenings...

I went to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado About Nothing and it was Fantastic!!! Utter genius. The play is brilliant anyway, though I've only ever seen the film version with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. I love love love David Tennant anyway, especially when paired with Catherine Tate. They just bounce off each other so well.

It was brilliantly funny. Genuinely had the whole theatre laughing from start to finish. Except when they did the sad and serious bits. I was impressed with how the two of them changed the tone, from comedy to real emotion. I haven't seen Catherine Tate do much 'serious' acting but when she does it is genius. DT was his usual incredibly energetic self. I wonder what he's like off stage, because on stage he really does exude a kind of manic energy. He is as beautiful in life as he is on tv, and possibly even skinnier (which I like in a man ;)).

The show was set in the 80s, complete with Diana-style wedding dress and various other monstrosities of fashion. Clearly the best was DT dressed in mini skirt with leggings and some weird crop top over fish net. I wish it was filmed so I could go back and watch it again, several times! I guess that's the thing of the theatre - which you forget when all you watch is films - the whole thing is so incredibly transitory. In a world full of films and recordings, you forget that most of life isn't something you can play back. I went to see Harry Potter 7.2 last night, and at the end I knew that I'd see that film again, many times. Somehow it makes you work less hard to appreciate it at the time, knowing you can go back to it.

Here endeth my little (and badly written) foray into the world of pondering. Mayhap I will try harder to live in the moments that come. I'm going to walk round to my sister-in-laws in a minute and go hang out with her and my lovely niece. She's nearly two, which is just crazy! How did she get so old?!

Today is my day off - though I did still wake up at 5! I did manage to sleep til 8 though, and all I have planned for the afternoon is to cook the fruitcake (middle) tier of my friend's wedding cake. It is somewhat overdue, but will still have a couple of weeks to mature. Whilst it cooks for the 4-5 hours that it takes, I shall do an equally overdue clean of my flat. It looks like the misery is lifting, and I shall return to a happier phase of being.

PS. I think I may have cracked the brownie question - to be posted soon

Monday, July 11, 2011

Chocolate Ganache and Strawberry Tarts

So much for updating every week….

I have a bit of an excuse though, I ran out of internet on my phone so I actually couldn't get on for over a week. It was tragic. But I've done a few recipes in the meantime. And photographed a few to add to the back catalogue. 

I just want to give you a very quick one, which was very tasty. Sainsbury's had an offer of giving a free pot of cream with each box of strawberries so I decided the best way to use it would be to make some chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache and Strawberry Tarts

Pastry:
This is from my beautiful "Patisserie' book I was bought for my birthday by my brother and sister-in-law. Written by the Roux brothers, it's full of very complicated recipes and very pretty pictures. 

Their Pate Sucree (Sweet short pastry) recipe is what I used….

250g/9oz plain flour
100g/3 1/2oz butter, slightly softened
100g/3 1/2oz icing sugar, sifted
small pinch of salt
2 eggs (55-60g apparently), at room temperature

Place the flour on the work surface (I found this weird!), and make a well in the centre. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in the centre, then work with your fingertips until completely softened. Add the sugar and salt mix well together, then add the eggs and mix. Gradually draw the flour into the mixture. 

When everything is thoroughly mixed, work the dough 2 or 3 times with the palm of your hand until it is very smooth. 

Roll the dough into a ball, flatten the top slightly, wrap in greaseproof paper or polythene and refrigerate for several hours. 

(You can keep it for several days in the fridge)


So, to the tarts:
1. Roll out the pastry as thin as you possibly can
2. Line your tart tins with the pastry and then prick with a fork a few times
3. Cover it with silver foil, but make sure it doesn't pull the pastry away from the edges of the tart tins
4. Fill with baking beads or with cheap rice you don't want to eat
5. Bake for 20 mins at 190C/Gas Mark 5, then remove from oven and remove the rice and the silver foil (at this point I tipped rice all over the floor). it'll be a little sticky at this point
6. Bake for another 5 mins until firm, then remove from oven and leave to cool

Now, for the fun filling:

Chocolate Ganache
150ml double cream
150g dark chocolate - I prefer to use cheap stuff that's about 50% to make this a bit sweeter, but if you like really dark, dark chocolate, use the 70% stuff.

1. Break the chocolate into pieces - most people chop it more but you don't really need to. But if you feel so inclined, chop it some more!
2. Put the chocolate into a bowl, (not a metal one as you're about to pour hot cream into it), so use glass or ceramic or whatever :)
3. Place the cream in a pan and put on medium-high heat. Don't worry about stirring it, it will start to boil around the edges within a couple of minutes
4. Pour hot cream onto chocolate and stir until it's beautiful and shiny and generally gorgeous.
5. Leave to cool for a bit
6. Spoon into tartlet cases, fill them about 3/4 of the way up, or more or less depending on your preference. 


Strawberry topping. 
Slice strawberries in whatever fashion you so desire. 

Lay them onto the chocolate ganache in a generally beautiful manner

To glaze…. I had no idea how to glaze things, but I knew they should be glaze otherwise they'd go funny. So I got some seedless jam (a travesty in my opinion, but sometimes handy for baking) and heated a spoonful up in a saucepan until it was nice and thin. Then I brushed it over the strawberries which made them shiny and pretty.