Peanut Butter and Julie

Toasted Almond Tuiles

Some people are great at picking out the perfect gift, while others, well, you just hope that they are not present to see your reaction when you unwrap the woolly holiday-themed sweater with the dancing reindeer motif.  These are the parcels that make writing thank-you notes a challenge.  I mean, you don't want to lie and spend several sentences gushing about how you really needed more Rudolph-themed clothing, but there is no nice way to tell someone to simply stop sending you gifts because it would benefit both parties involved.  So, until a more suitable solution is found, it looks as though gritting our teeth, forcing a smile, and saying "It's perfect.  How did you know?" is our best option.

I feel like I really lucked out in the gift recipient department.  My mom is one of those people who tunes in to a conversation every time someone mentions that they "need" something throughout the year.  She takes those little nuggets of information, stores them in a part of her brain that only really organized moms possess, and has all of her holiday shopping done by mid-October.  Every year, I open up items which I've forgotten that I "really need."  Hey mom, if you're reading this (and I know you are)  I "really need" for you and dad to move closer to Las Vegas.

Eric is equally talented at picking out gifts (even my mom is impressed.)  Although his grandmother used to tell him that his gifts were not very romantic (this was after he bought me a Weber grill), he always gets me things that are very practical and useful, which I love.  Last year, knowing that I was starting a blog, he got me a really great camera, with which I have photographed just about every morsel that we have eaten over the past 12 months.  This year, he followed up with a professional-quality lighting system, so that I don't need to subject my recipes to 100-degree heat every time that I need a natural lighting effect.  I had originally intended to use the lighting for today's post, but as I am not the engineer in the family, I clearly need a lesson first.  So we'll save the good lighting for the next post.

So, despite the photos that don't do them justice, these crisp and thin tuile cookies really are delicious.  Originally intended to imitate the shape of French roof tiles, tuiles are great to serve with coffee, ice cream, fresh fruit, or on their own for a little something sweet.  The shaping process is really very easy, with impressive and delectable results. Here are some extra tips for making these curved cookies:

• You can omit the almond extract if you do not have any available.  Orange, lemon, or coconut extracts can all be used as substitutes.
• To facilitate forming the tuile batter into circles, try to find something in your kitchen that is a circle of the correct size and then trace it with a black marker onto the parchment paper.  Turn the paper over (you don't want to get any ink on the cookies!) and use the circles to guide you.  The batter is thick enough so that is does not run.
• If you don't have enough rolling pins or wine bottles on hand, then just take a look in your pantry.  I guarantee that you will find something suitable to use (bottle of vinegar, olive oil, etc.).  For those bakers out there, if you happen to have one of those racks used for making French bread, those work equally well.
• Finished tuiles will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Toasted Almond Tuiles

Makes about 16

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites, room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  In the work bowl of a food processor, blend together the egg whites, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt until smooth.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Using about 2 teaspoons of batter per cookie, make 6 mounds, spacing them 3-inches apart, and then spread them into 4-5-inch rounds with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon (they will be fairly thin.)  Sprinkle each round with about 1/2 tablespoon almonds.

Bake the cookies until golden-brown, 7-9 minutes.  Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then, working quickly, remove each cookie with a metal spatula and drape over a rolling pin or a wine bottle (you will need 2) to form a curved shape.  Let stand until crisp, about 20 minutes.  Transfer the tuiles to a rack to cool completely.  Cool the baking sheet before making more cookies.

Rich Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet

For my birthday, Eric took me to Paris.  Well, not that Paris, but the one located about 15 minutes away, smack dab in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.  Got your attention, didn't I? 

If you've never been to the Paris Hotel and Casino, it's definitely worth a visit the next time that you are in Vegas, if only for a cafe au lait and some profiteroles from the patisserie.  They've really done a great job of recreating some of the things that make Paris, well, Paris.  In fact, if you can ignore the several hundred slot machines, various game tables, and the tourists walking around with three-foot-tall margaritas, then you might actually feel like you are in the original city of lights.  From the replica of the Arc de Triomphe that greets you as you pull into the entrance to the cobblestone walkways (here's a tip:  not the best place to wear your four-inch stilettos), francophiles will feel at home here.

One of the best restaurants in Las Vegas is located several stories above the Strip, inside Paris's replica of the Eiffel Tower.  If you're lucky, you'll score a table facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, which offer a stunning view of our city of lights (try to ignore all of the construction.)  You would think that the food would play second fiddle to such surroundings, but each course more than held its own.  Someone  must have mentioned to someone at the restaurant that it was my birthday, because after our entree, our server brought out a selection of sorbets, my favorite, fashioned on a plate to look like the colors of a painter's palette.  I thought that this was one of the more unique dessert presentations that I had seen, and we enjoyed every last bite (thankfully, I was spared any celabratory singing.)  Our refreshing and not-too-heavy dessert inspired me to make some sorbet of my own, combining my two favorite sorbets from Friday's dinner.  While this sorbet tastes very rich, you will see that it is actually quite lite.  Bon Appetit!  Here are a few extra tips for this deceptively decadent ice cream alternative:

• For an even lighter sorbet, substitute regular unsweetened coconut milk with a low-fat version and use unsweetened shredded coconut in place of the sweetened shredded coconut.
• Because the cocoa and chocolate flavors are so pronounced in this recipe, I recommend using a good quality chocolate.  Many grocery stores now carry higher end chocolate bars, which are the perfect size for this recipe.
• If your cocoa powder is clumping, sift it prior to adding it to the coconut milk mixture.  This will facilitate achieving a smooth texture.
• One the sorbet mixture has been made, it can be refrigerated overnight prior to freezing.  The sorbet should keep well for up to 2 weeks, tightly covered in the freezer. 

Rich Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (optional)

In a heavy saucepan, combine the coconut milk, water, sugar, and corn syrup.  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Raise the heat to medium, bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low.  Whisk in the cocoa and simmer for 2 minutes longer.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Add the chopped chocolate and stir until it is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.  Cool to room temperature.  Stir in the vanilla and coconut extracts and then cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Stir the cooled mixture and then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.  During the last few minutes of churning, add the shredded coconut to the mixture, if desired.  When finished, the sorbet will be soft but ready to eat.  For firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours.