Le Marron/栗

Baked Chestnut Rice

Tis the season of chestnuts? I think so… deep in Fall, yearning for chestnuts dishes intensify with love and hate. My feeling of discordance is of course, removing its shells…it’s so darn hard! However, our Autumn won’t pass by without welcoming the shiny brown petite friends.

Although there are many methods to remove the tough outer layer of skin Japanese call it onigawa (demon skin/鬼皮) and inner thin skin called shibugawa (bitter skin/渋皮), right now I prefer pressure cooker method because of no soaking time necessary and quicker…still I don’t feel the love yet at this point.

I say this is French because I borrowed the recipe from a Japanese chef of a French restaurant La Blance I saw in a magazine. I like the uniqueness…yep very original!

Ingredients and Instruction for 4 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 20 to 25 chestnuts
• 3/4 cup multi grain rice (五穀米) I used 8 grain rice mix 
• 1/2 medium size onion minced
• 3  to 4 slices of bacon roughly chopped
• 2-3 leaves of cabbage roughly chopped (optional)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare chestnuts – remove two layers of skins.
   Pressure cooker method – carefully  notch the peak of chestnuts in cross fashion first without going too deep. Put prepared chestnuts in the pressure cooker. Add barely enough water to cover the chestnuts. Cover with lid, set to low pressure for 6 minutes. when it finishes, release pressure and remove one with tong. The area you notched should now be opened up, pull downward to remove brown shell. Then with sharp knife peel the inner skin from bottom. Do this as fast as possible while it’s still warm. Repeat for the rest. Note: I leave chestnuts in the pressure cooker pan while I’m working on the others. It will be difficult to remove skin if chestnuts cool
   .
2. Prepare rice -  Boil about 3 cups of water and add rice. Cook until soft about 25 minutes at low heat. Do this step while you are peeling chestnuts. When the rice is ready strain thru fine mesh. Set aside.
3. Heat oven to 390F.  Sauté bacon and onion until onion is transparent. Add cabbage if using (cabbage adds sweetness to the dish), cook till wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread them in the bottom of an oven safe dish with at least 2 inch rim.
   
4. Assembly – Place drained rice on top of the step #3. Then chestnuts, sprinkling chicken broth is next and finally grated cheese.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

More chestnuts fair - Japanese style chestnuts nice, a staple fall dish. This with black beans is a little twist on our tradition. The matsutake mushroom savory custard, steamed pork belly with lotus roots and sweet potato was definitely something  to enjoy the full moon the other night.And last but not least, the Almond cream chestnuts bundles are uncomplicated if you use the store bought frozen pastry.I can feel the love finally! ~ Can you feel the love tonight ?~ that’s my favorite song in The Lion King!…wait,  Hakuna matata is my best?…Circle of life?… oh whatever! What’s a-motto with you?

Anyway, I hope you have no worries for the rest of your days!

Golden Nuggets

Chestnuts and Sweet Potato Steamed Rice  栗と薩摩芋のおこわ

Deep into the Autumn – my craving for chestnuts rice happens this time of year. However, removing the hard outer and inner shell of chestnuts is quite a task which I simply loath. I wish I have a Chestnuts rad 2 (栗くり坊主２see video, it’s all in Japanese but you will see what I’m talking about) gadget. It seems to do a wonderful job. I wish I had invented this handy tool.

The idea of using chestnuts in heavy syrup in place of fresh ones is a bit wild. I fear that it may lead to a costly mistake?- one jar of chestnuts sets you back like $7 and only seven in the jar… what ..the…heck! Is there gold in there? Good news is that I didn’t have to deal with the dreadful shell business…yeah it was a tad sweet but not too shabby. OK, I’ll only make it this way if I’m pressed for time.   

Ingredients and directions for 4-6 servings

Necessary equipments: Steamer pan or bamboo steamer lined with silicone, coated parchment paper or moist cloth. Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

• Sweet rice (もち米) 3 (rice cooker) cups, rinse and soak in water for 1 hour
  
• Sweet potato, prefer Satsuma sweet potato, chopped in chunks to make up about 1 cup, soak in water for 10 minutes to prevent discoloration
  
• Chestnuts in heavy syrup 7-14, drain the syrup and soak chestnuts in hot water for a minute or so to tame some sweetness.
  
• Water 350cc
• Salt 2 teaspoons
• Sake 2 Tablespoons
• Black sesame for garnish. If you have pestle and mortar, grind it for more flavor and aroma.
  
• Kosher salt to taste (optional) 

1. After soaking rice for an hour, drain water through sieve, leave rice on the sieve to dry for 30 minutes
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2. Pour 350cc water in pan and add salt and sake. Heat at medium high heat. When the liquid starts to boil then add dried rice and cook for 2-3 minutes or until rice soaks up all the liquid.
3. Fill the steamer’s bottom part of pan with water about 2 inch depth. When the steamer is ready, spread the rice on the upper part of steamer, place soaked and drained sweet potatoes and chestnuts on top of the rice in a single layer.
   
4. Put the lid on and steam for 15 minutes. Spread rice onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to remove excess moisture.
5. Sprinkle with black sesame and Kosher salt and serve.

A little something on the side – boiled crown daisy (春菊) and bean sprouts. It compliments the chestnut rice well.

We raked the leaves last Saturday. There is more to come. “Then why are we doing it now?” said my husband. Because… this is in the Honey-Do list?Many of my friends deck their house for Halloween. Me? Not this year, I just don’t want to go up in the chilly attic to search for the ‘Halloween’ box. My friend made this loveable Frankenstein. Dressed up like a million dollar trooper…I start tap dancing and singing – Puttin’ on the Ritz!  Now if you’re blue… watch Young FrankenSteve version. Super-duper!

I hope you have a fun Halloween! 

 

 

(Re)Quest

Gluten Free Dacquoise aux Marron (ダコワースのマロンケーキ)

“Probably Strawberry Short Cake” my son said for his birthday cake selection. “Every cake you make is (very) good” he added. He basically said “Whatever”. I should have recorded that conversation. When I presented him this Chestnut Cake he goes “Whaaa…t?” like that. Happy Birthday to you!

The matter of truth is I didn’t have strawberries. I went to the market yet I spaced out completely. Like he said, whatever I make is SUPER ( he omitted this word but I know he meant to say it) good so let’s try this new recipe, in all honesty, I was really not in the mood for one more trip to the store – request denied.

The origin of dacquoise name perhaps came from the town of Dax, southwest of France and means ‘People of Dax’. However the person who developed this recipe is Japanese.Takao Mishima (三嶋隆夫), a chef who worked at Arthur, Paris’ 16th district restaurant in the 1970’s. I have made many chestnut cakes in the past but I think this is the easiest so far. Because of almost identical ingredients, the flavor is similar to a macaron without footwork. Anyway, my quest for the perfect chestnut cake continues.

Ingredients and direction for dacquoise

Equipment you need: Food scale, 12x9 baking pan lined with parchment paper

• Egg whites 135g about 4 large eggs (the eggs below are gift from my husband’s co-worker, nice aren’t they?)
• Granulated sugar 25g
• Almond Powder 100g. Sift with powdered sugar 70g below. Note: use coarse mesh strainer, it’s tough to get the almond powder through.
• Powdered sugar 70g plus an additional 2-3 Tablespoons for dusting.

1. Preheat oven to 410F.
2. Beat egg white with electric hand held mixer or stand mixer at medium speed till it gets cloudy.
3. Add 1/3rd of granulated sugar and continue whipping till you can see the solid white color and when you lift up the beaters, they leave a trace.
4. Gradually add the rest of the sugar and make meringue with stiff peaks but still shiny and not dry.
   
5. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup of the almond and powdered sugar mixture and gently fold it in with spatula until the almond disappears. Repeat until all the almond flour has been added.
6. Pour batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle powdered sugar through a strainer. When the powdered sugar disappears, dust again with powdered sugar.
   
7. Put in the oven. Close the oven door and immediately turn down the temperature to 392F. Bake for 15 minutes.
8. Cool cake in the pan on the cooling rack. When it’s completely cooled, flip onto a clean flat surface. Cut cake in 3rds. Then carefully remove paper.

Make Filling

• Heavy cream 120g
• Granulated sugar 20g
• Chestnuts about 16 pieces – I used a jar of chestnuts from William Sonoma- chopped small. 4-6 whole chestnuts for decoration later.
  
  

1. Whip heavy cream and sugar till soft peak with electric mixer.
2. Add chopped chestnuts and gently combine with spatula.

Make Chestnut cream

• Unsalted butter 100g softened
• Can of chestnut cream 200g – similar item available in Whole Foods.
• Rum flavoring 1/2 teaspoon (optional). If using real rum 10g

1. Put butter in the bowl and whip with electric hand held mixer till the butter gets pale and fluffy.
2. Add chestnut cream and mix with lower speed till well incorporated.
3. Add rum and mix.

Syrup – although it’s optional, this will keep the cake moist.

• 1/3 cup warm water
• Sugar 2 Tablespoon
• Rum flavoring 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon (optional)

Dissolve sugar in the water and add rum flavoring.

Assembly

1. Lay first of three cakes on the plate.
2. Brush with syrup repeatedly using about 1/3 of syrup.
3. Spread 1/3rd of filling evenly on top.
4. Lay the second piece of cake and repeat step #2 and #3.
5. Lay the third and final piece on top and repeat step #2 and #3.
6. Put chestnut cream in the pastry bag with tip (I used a multiple hole tip but a one pin hole tip will work too).
   
7. Pipe out diagonally and  then again to form a cross-hatch or diamond pattern.
8. Clean sides with a pallet knife.
9. Decorate with chestnuts on top (optional). I used chestnuts in heavy syrup.I proudly announced that this cake is gluten free. ” I’m ok with gluten, you know that right?” said my husband. Yeah but this does not taste like it. Hummm, this looks like soba noodle.

Putting the kids to bed was an exhausting job indeed.

This is one of my first paintings.  

I needed to make amends with him with his favorite dish –  crab cream croquette but he was out with friends. Fine!

My son made us beef stroganoff over egg noodle under the guidance of Betty Crocker. It’s good though, my recipe is betty…better.

We went out for dinner last Saturday then stopped by the Petite Provence for a little treat. From the right – chocolate, vanilla, caramel, orange, half eaten raspberry and missing is pistachio.