Quail Eggs, Part Two

Week: 12
Ingredient: Quail Eggs
From: Great Wall Supermarket, Falls Church, VA
Recipe: Deviled Quail Eggs

My first quail egg adventure left me with a dozen eggs. After seeing the incredible cuteness of the quail eggs as Lowell Eggs (quite a feat considering the brownish color imparted by the sausage drippings), I wanted to make something even more adorable: a plate full of teeny tiny deviled eggs. I found a recipe online, and whipped up a quick batch.

They looked exactly as I had pictured they would—absolutely darling. I can just imagine a bunch of ladies oooing and ahhing over them at a baby shower. Unfortunately the flavor was a little on the boring side. I was hoping the fresh chives would enhance the flavor, but they turned out flat-tasting. I was a bit disappointed. (Next time I will use my own recipe.)

Conclusion: I do not have much to add to my prior conclusion about quail eggs. As far as I could tell, they tasted pretty much like chicken eggs. To me, the primary reason to use them is presentation. Somehow being miniature equates with being special, and there is an instant wow-factor. Maybe little and cute isn’t your thing, so I will leave you to make what you will of this list of purported benefits, straight from the package:¹

Rejuvenate whole body regardless of age
Depress allergy symptoms
Enhance sexual potential
Improve heart functioning
Lower arterial blood pressure
Improves digestion and gastric acidity
Improve memory
Have positive impact on children’s growth
Lower and stabilize blood sugar level

¹There was very little identification on the package, so I can only cite the distributor: QPL-LLC.

Quail Eggs, Part One

Week: 12
Ingredient: Quail Eggs
From: Great Wall Supermarket, Falls Church, VA
Recipe: Lowell Eggs

As I considered what to do with this week’s ingredient, I thought about all my favorite ways to eat eggs. Of course, eggs are important components in many things—cakes, custards, meatballs, and on and on. But I was thinking about dishes where the egg is the star. It is hard to imagine a place where eggs are more of a star than in their traditional place on an American breakfast plate.

When it comes to your basic breakfast eggs, I typically opt for scrambled. When I was growing up, the rest of my family seemed to prefer fried eggs to scrambled eggs. But not me. In fact, I think I even went through a phase where I did not like fried eggs at all. It was something about the yolk—I didn’t like it firm, I didn’t like it runny, and I didn’t like it anywhere in between either. Fortunately, I grew out of that, but my preference is still for scrambled eggs.

To cook quail eggs for the first time, scrambling just seemed wrong. I did not want to lose the integrity of the egg’s structure; white and yolk should remain separate. So, I decided it would have to be fried eggs. But not just any fried eggs—Lowell Eggs.

Lowell Eggs?

I have many fond memories of trips to North Carolina as a kid. Some of my family lived there, and we would visit from time to time. There was always plenty of good food to eat (especially the barbecue from Parker’s), but one of my most vivid food memories is watching my Great Uncle Lowell cook eggs. He did not cook eggs the way Mom did, and it made an impression on my brother and me. We dubbed them Lowell Eggs, and here is the recipe ...

Lowell Eggs

Ingredients

• Sausage, not low-fat
• Eggs

Preparation

1. Fry the sausage.
2. Remove the sausage from the pan.
3. Fry the eggs in the sausage fat left in the pan.
4. Serve with salt and pepper.

That’s it. I absolutely cannot imagine a better fried egg, so that is the way I decided to fry my quail eggs. For authenticity, it would have been nice to use some of the big, fat, spicy, delicious sausage links we often get in North Carolina. However, there was no time for a road trip, so I settled for some local-ish (made in Virginia) bulk sausage I found at Kroger (which was quite good). As the sausage fried, it filled my house with an oh-so-enticing aroma (which was not-so-enticing when it lingered in my house the next day). The tiny quail eggs cooked very quickly in the hot fat, and took on the savory flavor of the sausage. Classic Lowell Eggs ... in miniature!

Conclusion: The quail variation of Lowell Eggs was delicious, but other than the tiny size, I could not discern much difference from the standard chicken egg version. Maybe that can be blamed on the wonderful sausagey flavor, or perhaps a side-by-side taste test would have made flavor differences more obvious. A slight disadvantage of quail eggs is that you have to cook so many, but the speed at which they cook pretty much makes up for that. In the end, quail eggs have the advantage of being absolutely adorable, and that is enough reason for me to use them again.

The Black Cocoa Experiment

Week: 11
Ingredient: Black Cocoa
From: King Arthur Flour
Recipe: Dark Chocolate Shortbread

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

I always get excited about holidays that give an excuse to eat something special. Therefore, I find it a little strange that I have never celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with an Irish feast. Mmm ... colcannon and soda bread and ... Guinness? OK. I admit I do not know much about Irish cuisine. Unfortunately Saint Patrick’s Day crept up on me this year, and there was no time to plan an Irish meal. So, I decided to settle for something (at least semi-) Celtic.

The first element of my (at least semi-) Celtic adventure was a shortbread mold decorated with Celtic knots. It arrived last week in a very exciting package from King Arthur Flour. I did not order it with Saint Patrick’s Day in mind, so the Celtic design was a happy coincidence. And what do you do with a shortbread mold but make shortbread? Shortbread is typically regarded as Scottish, and Scotland is a Celtic nation, so that was a happy coincidence as well. But how could I make shortbread adventurous?

The not-so-Celtic part of my adventure also arrived in the very exciting package from King Arthur Flour: black cocoa. According to its package, black cocoa “will make the darkest chocolate cake or cookies you’ve ever seen.” I like dark chocolate, so dark chocolate shortbread seemed like a good idea. And to make a good idea even better, I decided to turn this into an experiment. I would make two batches of shortbread: one with regular cocoa and one with black cocoa. That way I could really see what a difference the black cocoa makes.

See for yourself:

I was pretty astonished at the difference between the two shortbreads. When I looked at the regular cocoa shortbread on its own, it looked very chocolaty, but placed beside the black cocoa shortbread, it looked kind of weak. In addition to the difference in appearance, the shortbreads differed in texture. The black cocoa produced a soft shortbread while the regular cocoa shortbread was crumblier. What was most astonishing, however, was the taste. You would expect something that dark to be intensely chocolaty, but that was not the case. In fact, I would not even say the black cocoa had a stronger flavor; it was just different. The regular cocoa shortbread tasted like chocolate, and the black cocoa shortbread tasted like the cookie part of an Oreo. It pains me a little to compare my homemade confection to a mass-produced cookie, but that is the best way I can think to describe it. You can decide for yourself if an Oreo-like flavor is a good thing or a bad thing.

Conclusion: I really like the color the black cocoa lends, but I am not thrilled with its flavor. Because the black cocoa package warns that using it alone “will produce a very strong-flavored baked good,” I (more or less) heeded its advice and made my black cocoa shortbread with a 2:1 ratio of black cocoa to regular cocoa. In the future when I want the dark color of black cocoa, I will probably try a ratio more like 1:1 or 1:2.

Bonus: If I ever decide to embark on an adventure to unlock the secrets of the Oreo, I have a really good lead on what gives them that black color.

Calabaza Squash

Week: 10
Ingredient: Calabaza Squash
From: Martin's, Harrisonburg, VA
Recipe: Mashed Winter Squash¹

Last time I went to the grocery store, I was in a hurry, so I decided to grab the first unusual thing that I could find. In the produce section, I found what looked like a small, tan-colored pumpkin. It was a calabaza squash. The truth is that I have absolutely nothing interesting to say about it. I made “Mashed Winter Squash,” more or less by the Joy of Cooking recipe,¹ and it was pretty much like any other winter squash. I would say its flavor is somewhere between butternut squash and pumpkin—squashy and slightly sweet. It takes a while to make, but that is only because of the cooking time; the prep is quick and easy. It makes a nice winter vegetable. And I mean “nice” in the completely-generic-positive-adjective kind of way.

After I made the mashed squash, I took the seeds and toasted them (also more or less by the Joy of Cooking recipe¹). They made a nutty, salty, crunchy, and wonderfully addicting snack. Also nice. But this time I mean “nice” in the one-word-phrase-said-with-heart sort of way. (Not quite the way Kevin Malone would say it, but something like that.) And if the delicious snack was not enough, there was also the good feeling I got from being so frugal ... (Mennonite?)

Conclusion: I would not go out of my way to find calabaza squash, but if it was available and priced the same as other squash varieties, I would use it again. My biggest takeaway from this experience is not to throw away squash seeds. If a squash (or more likely a pumpkin) has a good seed yield, it is definitely worth the effort to toast the seeds. What a delicious snack! Supposedly squash seeds are healthy too (but that’s probably before they are coated with oil and salt).

¹Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, & Ethan Becker, Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary ed. (New York: Scribner, 2006), 71, 308-309.

Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

Week: 9
Ingredient: Manischewitz Toasted Coconut Marshmallows
From: Martin's, Harrisonburg, VA
Recipe: Toasted Coconut Rice Krispies Treats

I found this week’s ingredient in one of those seasonal displays at the grocery store. This one was for Passover. Beside the matzo and the gefilte fish, there were bags of Toasted Coconut Marshmallows. As far as I am concerned, marshmallows have approximately three uses:

1. S’mores
2. Hot chocolate
3. Rice Krispies Treats

So what exactly does one do with coconut-covered marshmallows?

And why in the world did I buy them? I must have been disobeying that classic rule (never shop for groceries when you are hungry) because even copious amounts of coconut—which I love—would not make me want to eat marshmallows plain. I see them as little fluffy pillows of sweet blandness. They are not bad—just boring. (Actually, I have heard that homemade marshmallows are unbelievably delicious compared to store-bought ones, but that is not really relevant in this case.) A covering of toasted coconut adds some flavor, but I do not think it is enough to elevate the marshmallow to an eat-out-of-the-bag snack.

Anyway, something made me buy them, and they have been sitting in my pantry taunting me with their mediocrity ever since. I had to do something with them just to get rid of them. Since I could use the whole bag quickly and easily by making Rice Krispies Treats, that is what I decided to do.

Whenever I make Rice Krispies Treats, I never follow a recipe, and I always add peanut butter. Without the peanut butter, I find the treats to be just like marshmallows—sweet and bland. I was hoping Toasted Coconut Rice Krispies Treats would have some flavor ...

... And they did, but I was still disappointed with the results. There just was not enough coconut. Or perhaps they needed an additional flavor, such as nuts or chocolate. That’s it—they needed nuts and chocolate! Oh yeah ... I’m thinking pecans and dark chocolate. Mmm ...

Conclusion: I could have made Toasted Coconut Rice Krispies Treats with regular marshmallows simply by adding toasted coconut. The special marshmallows were not necessary. However, if you have ever avoided marshmallows because you are suspicious of the source of the gelatin in them, Manischewitz marshmallows are for you. It tells you right there in the ingredient list that they are made with kosher fish gelatin. Yummy! Don’t you feel better knowing that?

A Birthday Cake for Danny ... with Arrowroot

Week: 8
Ingredient: Arrowroot Starch
From: Martin’s, Harrisonburg, VA
Recipe: White Chocolate Blueberry Pecan Cake

This week (well, it’s Monday, so actually last week) was very busy, and I nearly forgot about finding something new and different to cook. In fact, when my mom and I decided on Wednesday that I would take care of making a cake for my brother’s birthday party on Sunday, all my culinary scheming became focused on Danny’s cake.

In my family you get to request any kind of cake (or pie or ???) you want for your birthday. So, like a good sister, I texted Danny:

I'm making cake. Tell me what you want or you get surprise!!

Danny replied:

i would like a cake that incorporates blueberries, pecans, and white chocolate, and no cream cheese! unless that's a bad culinary idea.... you're the expert!

Hmmm ... not a combination I would have picked. White chocolate can be a tricky ingredient for blending. In small amounts, it has a delicate flavor that can easily be overwhelmed by other flavors (like regular chocolate). In large amounts, it is so sweet and rich that it needs to be balanced out with something light, fresh, and/or tart (like lemon). When I thought through Danny’s idea, I decided it had merit. There would need to be lots of white chocolate if I wanted its flavor to come through along with the blueberries and pecans. However, the pecans would help cut the sweetness, and the blueberries would add freshness. Piece of cake! Insert groan at bad pun here.

My mind took off, exploring possibilities long before I had a chance to look for recipes. When I finally had time to sit down and do some research, I went straight for The Cake Bible,¹ which has become my go-to resource for all things Cake. (For those of you who are not familiar with Rose Levy Beranbaum’s masterpiece, I will just say that it is not for the casual baker. Read the reviews on Amazon if you want to understand more.) The first component of the cake was obvious: “White Chocolate Whisper Cake.” “White Chocolate Mousseline Buttercream” and “Winter Blueberry Topping” followed close behind. I toyed with the idea of incorporating pecans into the cake batter or using one of the nut cake recipes, but I could not decide on anything that satisfied me. So, I decided to toast the pecans and use them as a garnish. Still, I was missing something. The cake, buttercream, topping, and nuts were not going to come together in perfect balance in the four-layer pièce de résistance I was dreaming up. It needed more ... blueberry.

Enter blueberry curd. A curd is an intensely-flavored fruit spread, topping, or filling. Lemon curd is the canonical curd, but other fruits can be made into curd as well. A four layer cake would require three fillings. Two of blueberry curd and one of white chocolate buttercream would make a lovely balance. None of my trusted recipe sources had recipes for blueberry curd, but I figured I could improvise on another curd recipe. The plan was complete.

The first thing I made was the curd. When it was finished cooking, I set it aside to cool and moved on to the cake itself. I measured carefully (by weight, not volume), painstakingly followed the instructions, monitored the oven temperature closely, and rotated my cake layers midway through cooking. They came out looking perfectly golden and perfectly level. Fantastic, I thought. A short break, and then on to the buttercream.

It was not to be. Before I moved on to the buttercream, I realized something had gone horribly awry. The blueberry curd was not thickening, and the cake layers had both sunk in the middle. There was no way I could make a four-layer cake out of two half-sunken layers and runny filling. Quel dommage!

I was able to salvage the sunken cake layers. I trimmed them into two 1-inch layers. However, I considered the blueberry curd a complete loss, and it is still in my refrigerator (and will probably be used as a pancake topping).

The buttercream came together like a dream, and I used that (mixed with some pecans) to fill the layers. I frosted the (2-layer) cake with buttercream (sans pecans), and coated the sides of the cake with pecans. I piped a border around the top and bottom, and spooned the “Winter Blueberry Topping” (which also came together quite nicely) on top.

It was not the cake I had envisioned, but if I had not told the story, no one would have known anything was amiss. It was quite delicious. There is really nothing like a quality cake, and despite its flaws, this one was top notch (if I may say so myself). All the butter and white chocolate in the cake and icing gave it a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth quality (plus a little crunch from the pecans). The flavors of the white chocolate and blueberries complemented each other. Danny, you chose well!

Conclusion: I have not mentioned arrowroot starch at all so far. It kind of feels like I cheated. “Winter Blueberry Topping” called for arrowroot OR cornstarch. I really could have used cornstarch (which I always have on hand), but I needed a way to fit some new ingredient into this cake adventure; there was no time for something else. So, I used arrowroot. Maybe in a side-by-side comparison I could tell a difference between arrowroot-thickened and cornstarch-thickened blueberry topping, but in this stand-alone instance, all I can say is that it worked. That hardly seems like an adequate synopsis, so I will leave you with Rose Levy Beranbaum’s probably-based-on-actual-experience opinion that “arrowroot is preferable to cornstarch because it adds sparkle.”

¹Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Cake Bible (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1988).