After a hectic summer I'm back for the August DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE; a challenge I really enjoyed making and eating!  The assignment this month was Pierre Hermé's chocolate éclairs from the book Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé.  Hermé is considered to be France's premier pastry chef.  I find making any of Hermé's pastries to be a bit intimidating.  If you have ever looked at his cookbooks or better yet, been to his shop on rue Bonaparte in Paris, you will understand.  His creations are absolute perfection.  And as I've said before, my baking style is more rustic.  Although my éclairs do not have the exacting uniformity of Pierre Hermé's, I can't believe his could taste any better than mine did.  My éclairs were delicious!

   The guidelines for this challenge were  1)  The dough used for the éclairs must be Pierre Hermé's recipe for pâte à choux  2)  There were two chocolate elements in the recipe--a chocolate glaze and a chocolate pastry cream.  Only one was required. I chose to substitue a vanilla pastry cream isntead, to avoid chocolate overload.  I did, however, use Pierre Hermé's recipe for vanilla pastry cream.  I had just recently roasted hazelnuts and sprinkled the chopped nuts on my freshly iced éclairs.

   Pâte à choux has always been a favorite of mine.  No matter how often I make it, it is still a delight to see it transform from a shiny, smooth dough to crisp, golden-brown puffs.  The one thing I did change in my baking of Pierre Hermé's éclairs was to not wedge a wooden spoon inside the oven door after 7 minutes.  I always end up baking choux pastry longer than a recipe calls for, and I saw no need to let hot air escape my oven.  Also, I have never frozen piped choux dough before and doing this made last minute assembly extremely easy.  I plan to make this again and keep the piped éclairs in my freezer for expected and unexpected house guests.

                        Pierre Hermé's Chocolate Eclairs
              recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
                               (makes 20-24 éclairs)

CREAM PUFF DOUGH (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Divide the oven into thirds by positioning racks in the upper and lower half of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.  Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.  Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in 4-inch lengths.  Leave about 2 inches between each dough strip to allow room to puff.  The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs (I got about 18).
3.  Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes.  After 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep it ajar.  When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back.  Continue baking for another 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and FIRM.  The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes (I did not open the door after 7 minutes, and after 20 minutes I turned my oven off, but left the éclairs in the oven for another 5 minutes.  It's probably just my oven). 
NOTES:  The éclairs can be kept in a cook, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1.  Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion.  Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2.  The glaze should be barely warm to the touch.  Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula.  Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
3.  Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs.  Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry.  Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

                         Pierre Hermé's Cream Puff Dough

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1.  In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.
2.  Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon.  The dough comes together very quickly.  You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough.  After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
3.  Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.  You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate.  Do not worry.  As you keep working the dough, it will come back together by the time you have added the third egg.  In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon. 
4.  The dough should be still warm.  It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

NOTES:
1.  Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2.  You can pipe the dough and then freeze it.  Simply pipe the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and slide the sheet into the freezer.  Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags.  They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

                                Vanilla Pastry Cream

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 plump, moist vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (slightly rounded) sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1.  In a small saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla bean (pulp and pod) to a boil over medium heat.  Cover the pan, remove from the heat, and allow the mixture to rest for 10 minutes, time enough for the liquids to be infused with the warm flavor of vanilla.
2.  Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished cream and be placed in this ice bath. 
3.  Whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan.  Whisking all the while, very slowly drizzle a quarter of the ot milk into the yolks.  Still whisking, add the rest of the liquid to the tempered yolks in a steady stream.  Remove and discard the pod.
4.  Place the saucepan over high heat and, whisking vigorously and without stop, bring the mixture to the boil.  Keep at the boil, whisking energetically, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.  Pour the cream into the reserved small bowl.  Set the bowl in the ice bath (you can add some cold water to the cubes now) and, stirring frequently so that the mixture remains smooth, cool the cream to 140 degrees F, as measure on an instant-read thermometer.  Stir in the butter in three or four additions.  Keep the cream over ice, stirring occasionally, until it is completely cool.  The cream can be used now or refrigerated. 

                                   Chocolate Glaze

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tablespoons Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1.  In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil.  Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon.
2.  Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.      

                                  Chocolate Sauce

• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar

1.  Place all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly.  Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2.  It may take 10-15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon. 

A couple of years ago I was invited to lunch at the home of a new friend.  Maureen grew up knowing my friend Paula, and shares with me a love of all things French. Paula thought we would be a good fit and introduced us.  Discussing food that day while dining on our French-inspired meal, Maureen made mention of her son-in-law's deceased uncle who was a "foodie" and had lived in the south of France.  It didn't take me long to connect the dots.  The uncle was Richard Olney.  After reading a tribute to Olney by Alice Waters after his death in the early 90's, I realized what a strong contributor he had been in the culinary world through his writings, cookbooks and mentoring to many, including Alice Waters.  Since my discovery that day over lunch, I have received several cookbooks by Olney from his nephew.  Today's recipe for ratatouille is from the book Lulu's Provencal Table by Richard Olney. 

Lulu Peyraud's ratatouille is the best I have ever eaten.  And this time of year, I have all of the ingredients I need to make it in my garden!

                                        RATATOUILLE
               from Lulu's Provencal Table by Richard Olney

About 2/3 cup olive oil
1 pound large sweet onions, split in two and finely sliced
Salt
6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, peeled, and finely sliced
1 pound zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch sections
1 pound firm young eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and quartered
3 large sweet peppers (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green) grilled, peeled, seeded, and cut lengthwise into narrow strips, juices reserved
Bouquet garni containing 2 bay leaves and 2 or 3 thyme sprigs
Pepper

   Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a wide, heavy 8 to 10-quart pot, add the onions, and cook, covered, over very low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for at least 30 minutes, or until they are melting and simmering in their own juices but uncolored.  Remove the lid, raise the heat slightly, and cook, stirring regularly, until they are uniformly light golden brown.  Add the salt, garlic, and zucchini and continue to stir regularly.
   Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan and add the eggplant and salt.  Saute, tossing and turning until the pieces are softened.  Add them to the pot with the onions and zucchini, reserving any remaining oil in the frying pan.
   Add more oil to the frying pan if it is nearly dry.  Over high heat, add the tomatoes and salt; saute, shaking the pan and tossing constantly until their liquid has evaporated.  Remove them from the heat before they begin to disintegrate and empty the frying pan into the pot.  Add the peppers and their juices to the pot, immerse the bouquet garni, and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, pot uncovered, for about 2 hours.  Displace the vegetables gently, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot with the wooden spoon from time to time and lowering the heat as the liquid reduces, until all excess liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are coated in a syrupy sauce.  Remove from the heat, grind over pepper, and taste for salt.  If prepared ahead, transfer to a dish and leave to cool before covering and refrigerating--the flavors will ripen over a day or two.  If meant to be served at room temperature (too cold, the flavors are paralyzed), remove the ratatouille from the refrigerator an hour or so before serving and stir in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil at the last minute.

I normally have beets left at the end of the summer that I store in my refrigerator and use through the fall.  For our annual New Years Day brunch this year I actually roasted beets from my garden that were grown the previous summer.  I've never had beets for that long.  This year will be different.  I've been harvesting and roasting beets almost every other day and my supply is dwindling.  At our house, beets are always combined with blue cheese (my favorite being Maytag Blue) and toasted, candied walnuts.  With or without baby greens, the beets are lightly coated with a vinaigrette of balsamic, my best extra-virgin olive and seasoned with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.  I like to roast my beets, that have been drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt, wrapped in foil and baked at  375 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.  The time all depends on the size of the beets.  When tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife, they're done.  Plain, toasted walnuts taste just fine, but candied are my favorite.

                                    CANDIED WALNUTS

3 cups walnuts, large pieces
1 egg white, at room temperature and beaten gently
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Toss the walnuts with the egg white and then the sugar, coating evenly.  Scatter walnuts evenly, in a single layer, on a large baking sheet.  Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool before placing in an airtight container. 

I'm extremely pleased when I can find everything I need for a meal in my garden and pantry.  This pasta dish with tomatoes and fresh herbs was just the ticket.  I also served a salad of lettuces with roasted red and gold beets, blue cheese and toasted walnuts.  I love August!

                PASTA with SUMMER TOMATO AND HERB SAUCE
                                    Gourmet Magazine

1 pound plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/3 cup minced red onion
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 pound rotelle or fusilli
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
yellow pear tomatoes, halved for garnish

In a large bowl stir together the plum tomatoes, the onion, the olives, the oil, the vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste and let the sauce stand for 30 minutes.  In a saucepan of salted boiled water cook the pasta until it is al dente, drain it, and add the hot pasta to the sauce.  Add the herbs, toss the mixture until it is combined well, and serve it warm, garnished with the pear tomato halves. 

     BROCHETTES of MELON, PROSCUITTO, and FRESH MOZZARELLA
                        adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup (packed) fresh basil
One medium shallot, quartered
   In a food processor, puree olive oil, 1/3 cup basil, and shallot until basil and shallot are finely chopped.

Brochettes:
1 cantaloupe, halved crosswise, seeded, and flesh scooped out with a melon baller
8-ounce container Ciliegine Fresh Mozzarella, balls sliced in half or one 8-ounce ball cut into cubes
8 thin slices prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise
16 6-inch wooden skewers

Alternate melon balls and fresh mozzarella on skewer while weaving proscuitto between.  Arrange on platter and drizzle with the basil vinaigrette.  Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Bouchons are little chocolate cakes that you will see in patisseries all over Paris.  Very much like our chocolate brownie, they are given a taller, elongated shape when baked in a timbale mold. 

They can be dressed up with whipped cream and fresh berries, or eaten my favorite way, plain and out of hand with a glass of cold milk.

                                           BOUCHONS
             from Paris Boulangerie Patisserie by Linda Dannenberg

4 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter twelve 2-inch timbale molds or a muffin tin with twelve 2 3/4-inch cups.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until blended.  Add the butter and cocoa and whisk until well blended and smooth.  Add the flour and whisk until nearly blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips just until the mixture is blended.
   Spoon the batter into the molds or cups, filling them about three-quarters full.  Bake 15 to 18 minutes.
   Cool briefly and unmold.

Finally... finally I have the dilemma every day of what to do with all of my tomatoes.  Today I will cook up more of my tomato risotto sauce to freeze for the upcoming winter.  Tonight we will eat the fresh, uncooked tomato sauce over pasta that fills my kitchen with the smells of pungent garlic and sweet basil.  Yesterday afternoon, for a quick lunch, I sliced Purple Cherokee and Green Zebra heirloom tomatoes from my garden for Insalata Caprese.  Layered with fresh mozzarella and finished off with a healthy drizzle of balsamic, my best olive oil, and a sprinkle of coarse salt, all you need to add is some good bread to soak up the juices at the bottom of your plate. 

This is the tomato tart I wait all year to make--only in August with heirlooms from my garden.  I could eat this every day and never tire of it.

                         TOMATO, CHEESE, and OLIVE TART
                    adapted from Chez Nous by Lydie Marshall

1 unbaked 10-inch tart shell
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 egg
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Gruyere cheese
Enough tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick, to cover bottom of tart shell
Several Nicoise olives
1 tablespoon olive oil (I pull out my Nicholas Alziari for this tart!)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Whisk the mustard and egg together, then spread on the unbaked tart shell.
Sprinkle the cheese over the surface and decorate with the tomato slices.  Add several olives,  Dribble the oil over the tomatoes.
Bake in the lower part of the oven for 30-40 minutes.(I like my crust to be golden brown).
If the cheese is not golden brown, set the broiler on high and lightly brown the top of the tart for a few seconds.
Sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper on the tart and serve right away.

I spent this past weekend in Ohio celebrating the birthdays of my sister Susan, and her grandsons and my great nephews who are turning one today.

My niece has the perfect backyard for entertaining.  A new deck and outdoor kitchen were installed this year.

There's even a koi pond.

Kelsey made pizzas on the grill for my sister's birthday and I made salads with roasted goat cheese and a tomato vinaigrette.

Dessert was a carrot cake with buttercream frosting made by Kelsey.

The backyard was decorated with 150 helium balloons for the boys' birthday party the following day.

The twins each had their own GIANT cupcake.  Even after their bath we were finding chocolate cake under fingernails and inbetween toes.  More cake made it into their ears than into their mouths.

                             The adults ate smaller versions

... and fruit and salads, mini hamburgers and turkey burgers, etc., etc.  I'm amazed at what Kelsey accomplishes with two small boys under foot. 

I used a tomato vinegar that Susan purchased at a market in Provence this summer, to make the vinaigrette for the salad with roasted goat cheese.  I haven't located the vinegar here in the states, so I am posting a recipe by Lydie Marshall for her Roasted Chevre salad that I have made many times before.  Enjoy!

                      GREEN SALAD with ROASTED CHEVRE
                         from Chez Nous by Lydie Marshall

One 11-ounce cold Montrachet goat cheese, sliced into eight            1/2-inch-thick slices

1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup coarse homemade bread crumbs
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon
1/4 pound arugula, large stems removed
1/2 pound red leaf lettuce

   Sprinkle the cheese with 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper.
   In large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat.
   Quickly dip the cheese first in the beaten egg, then in the bread crumbs.  Fry the goat cheese, turning it over once until golden brown, about 5 minutes.  The cheese should be slightly melted inside and crisp on the outside (the domestic Montrachet takes longer to melt than the softer French Montrachet).
   In a large mixing bowl, whisk the vinegar with the remaining olive oil, yogurt, and tarragon.  Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper.
   Toss the salad greens in the dressing.  Taste and correct seasoning. 
   Serve the salad on individual plates with the fried chevre on top. 

          ITALIAN TUNA SALAD with WHITE BEANS and ARUGULA

Three 7-ounce cans tuna in olive oil, drained and lightly flaked
One 19-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3-4 cups of arugula, long stems discarded

In a large bowl, toss the tuna with the beans, tomatoes, onion and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Just before serving, fold in the arugula.