Jeff wanted to start off with eclairs. We made them a couple of times and they turned out ok, but we probably won't make them again unless someone request them. They tasted delicious, but Jeff decided that they didn't have the "WOW" factor that his amazing soufflés have (Jeff makes really good soufflés. I will blog about that at some point).
(The picture is not so good. Jeff kept making the eclairs at night in poor light)
We did learn something during our "Operation Eclair"...and that is how to make some good pastry cream or creme patisserie (that's what Jeff calls it). We made it and Jeff decided that it was a lot of work for something that tasted like vanilla pudding. I said they were similar, but the pastry cream was 100% better then pudding you make from a box (Like Jello). Of course Jeff had to go online and do research to see what the all knowing people on the web had to say about the matter. He read that they were the same thing and decided that we should just use Jello pudding since it's easier. I told him that there was no way that Jello pudding was better than home made pastry cream and we needed to test it! And test it we did!
Homemade pastry cream on top. Jello pudding on bottom.
Guess who was right? Me of course! The pastry cream is a little finicky and it's hard to get the perfect texture, but when you get it right, YUMMMMM! Trust me it's way better than vanilla Jello pudding. I believe Jeff said, "There is no comparison."
Recipe for pastry cream here. Sorry you have to login to get it.
After we mastered the cream we decided to make some mini tarts. Jeff has been telling me for months that tart crusts are really hard to make and that we would have to practice a lot. "False!" I told him. I had learned from the best, Ashley Groesbeck....now Hatch, how to make the perfect tart crust and I could do it on the first try. And first try I did. The edges were a little dark, but I put aluminum foil on the last few and they looked perfect! Jeff was impressed. He now asks me to make them all the time. Really not good for the diet.
The recipe I used for the crust is located here. It's all about not over working the dough!
Next Items: Homemade tortillas. Actually the goal is to come up with a nice Mexican dish. I'll let you know how it goes.
