Suddenly, a strange, loud, rhythmic, prolonged noise, like the dying moan of an organ, then the dying wail of the breeze sighing in the cloisters, struck the indignant ears of the nuns with astonishment. The nuns all turned to stare at Sister Agnès, who in her embarrassment, tripped and let fly a spoonful of her chou pastry dough into a pot of boiling fat, and the doughnut-like pet de nonne, 'nun's fart' was born.
"The solution to everything was just add butter. It was the moment when I realized so much of the magic that occurs in pastry, but also in sauces, emulsification, creating that silky texture of a classic French sauce, it's all because of butter."
Few low-prep dishes satisfy and delight on busy weeknights like one-pot pastas, and one of the best ingredients to take your pasta dishes to the next level is vegetable broth. Boiling dry pasta directly in vegetable broth instead of water imparts bolder flavor as the pasta soaks it up. Plus, you'll end up with a pot full of starchy cooking liquid from the boiled pasta, which can provide a solid base for building a pan sauce.
Of the five mother sauces, velouté is extremely under-appreciated and not talked about enough. It's what we as Americans call gravy, which we know has so many various uses. Velouté, which means velvety in French, is made with a light roux (or a mixture of flour and fat, like butter), stock or broth, and some seasoning like salt and pepper, and a bay leaf.
Essentially milk that has been reduced to eliminate most of its water content, evaporated milk is a thick, creamy, slightly sweet dairy alternative that has a 2-year long shelf life. But its uses go far beyond replacing a glass of milk. The ingredient is your secret weapon to richer, fluffier pancakes. Due to its lower moisture content, evaporated milk will create an especially thick pancake batter that helps trap air bubbles, resulting in a lighter, fluffier, and taller pancake.
First and foremost, French hot chocolate is made using real chocolate and not a powdered mix. Further, bittersweet dark chocolate takes center stage in this hot chocolate recipe rather than the super-sweet type of milk chocolate that's nearly synonymous with most U.S. desserts. The hot drink is rounded out with a mixture of whole milk and heavy cream for a properly thick and creamy consistency.
Using phyllo dough instead of traditional shortcrust for quiche changes the whole personality of the dish. The paper thin sheets of phyllo dough becomes light, flaky, and crunchy when baked, swapping rich, buttery heft for a lighter quiche with a crispy shell that shatters a little when you cut into it.
Heavy whipping cream is one of those things that pops up in a lot of recipes, but for some reason, it's never sold in exactly the amount you need. Instead, you're always left with some odd amount of heavy cream left over and no real idea what to do with it because, well, the recipe you bought it for is done now. That's where these recipes to use up heavy cream come in handy.
I love dessert as much as the next person. The existence of dessert is truly one of the best things to have happened to mankind, and I've always had immense respect for people who know how to make these sweet treats. Now, if you're curious like me, you've probably also tried whipping some stuff up in the kitchen (no one's going to ask if you failed. That's between you and your stand mixer).
Even though we will always defend the viewpoint that the best way to eat Nutella is with a spoon straight out of the jar, this beloved creamy hazelnut spread actually has many creative uses in the kitchen. It's super easy to bake with and handy to have in the pantry when you're craving a rich chocolatey dessert that tastes homemade without taking hours to prep. For example, the easy-peasy two-ingredient chocolate puff pastries.
Proper homemade mac and cheese, with tender noodles swimming in a creamy, cheesy sauce, is already about as good as it gets. The culinarians of the internet, however, have a simple one-ingredient change that will take your next round of baked mac and cheese to the next level: lobster base. This product, like Better Than Bouillon's Premium Lobster Base, is essentially lobster concentrate, used to whip up a quick lobster stock for things like lobster bisque.