i liked hearing about this quandry because a) it makes me feel less schizophrenic to know that my good and sane friends are also running around with funny questions zinging around inside their heads and b) because i just freaking love whipped cream. sue me.
anyhow, she finally realized that separation occurs because the milk we use at The Restaurant is not homogenized (glory! get yourself some. YUM.). you can even see it in the curvy glass bottle the cream comes in--a top of thick cream and a lower line of thinner liquid. lightbulb!
and her lightbulb became my lightbulb. a less brilliant lightbulb, but one all the same. M is always wondering about things while she works. she is always making mental notes and learning about what she loves best. i suppose i am also learning as i navigate the front of the house. but for me, it is less satisfying to take notes on the neediness of humans than it is to learn why whipped cream becomes a two-part wonder. at the risk of sounding like a frazzled stay-at-home mom, sometimes i need to do things for myself. and really, that means i need to remember and develop the things that my brain and body naturally want to do. away from work.
i tried this a few saturdays ago and learned that i can make puff pastry. and so can you! let's go:
i got this recipe from Baking by James Peterson. but now i think i will call him James "The God" Peterson. and you will see why if you ever pick up this book. "1500 photographs," it boasts, and for once, a boast be true. Peterson offers you a solid basic education on baking that will take you much farther than its pages. and the book's not even that heavy!
now for the recipe. James says that this particular puff pastry dough is best for short(er) notice projects that require flakiness, but not as much "puff". and of course, you can use the dough for myriad desserts and savories. i used mine to make the Crispy Apple Tart found later in the book. once you've gotten through this dough, the tart is a cinch. and so very golden and impressive too.
Quick Puff Pastry Dough
from Baking, by James Peterson
(makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough)
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold water
Cut sticks of butter lengthwise into quarters. Slice quarters crosswise into cubes and refrigerate.
In a bowl or on a work surface, combine flour and salt. Stir in water with your fingers or a wooden spoon until water disappears. Don't overwork the dough--it should look ragged.
Add the cold butter, form the mixture into a mound on surface and pound with rolling pin until it is about 6 by 18 inches. [my note: this may take more time and muscle than you think, so be patient. don't worry if the chunks of butter look like mosaic pieces in the dough--this means they haven't melted. good!]
If the butter starts to soften, refrigerate for 15 minutes. [my note: i did this so many times, i started to feel crazy. but trust James on this one. when in doubt, stick the sucker in the fridge.]
**Fold in the two ends of the rectangle so they meet in the center and fold again to form a packet with 4 layers of dough. The dough now has one double turn. If the dough felt elastic as you were rolling, refrigerate for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap, before continuing.
With the large single fold, like the spine of a book, on your left, roll the dough into a 6 by 18-inch rectangle. If at any point the utter starts to soften, melt, or stick to the work surface, refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
Repeat the rolling and folding once more for the third turn. If you need the pastry to puff rather than just be flaky, give it one more double turn. Refrigerate the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least one hour before rolling out and baking.
**the photos in the book are really quite invaluable. i am very visual, so purely verbal descriptions of the folds kind of confuse me. if you're the same way, i would recommend buying the book straight away.
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