I recently ordered Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan, which is a bit of an unusual purchase for me since I normally only buy cookbooks that focus solely on baking. This cookbook contains a wide range of savory recipes for appetizers and mains, with only a small section on desserts -- but I am a fan of Greenspan's, so I figured that this cookbook would be a worthwhile investment.
I got a chance to try out one of the recipes from Around My French Table over the weekend, while we were in Wisconsin visiting Tom's mother to celebrate her 70th birthday. I generally dislike baking in other people's homes -- when I'm faced with unfamiliar equipment and an unknown oven, it always causes me great anxiety. I volunteered to make a few items for the birthday dinner that Tom was preparing, but I wanted to stick to some simple baked goods that would be difficult to screw up. It was the perfect opportunity to try out Greenspan's recipe for Mustard Batons.
This recipe is marvelously simple, and it calls for only three ingredients -- purchased puff pastry, dijon mustard, and an egg. You thaw the puff pastry, roll it out, spread on some mustard, fold over the pastry, cut it into strips, brush with egg wash, and bake. Fifteen minutes later, you have some beautiful golden breadsticks. And they are delicious!
I tried making half of the batons with Grey Poupon and the rest with a mixture of Grey Poupon and Gulden's brown mustard. We all agreed that the batons made with the Grey Poupon-Gulden's mix were better and more flavorful. But they were all good, even without any poppy seeds or sesame seeds on top.
For my foolproof dessert, I threw together some cream puffs (which I filled with store-bought coffee ice cream) and hot fudge sauce. All in all, I was very pleased with the way my baked goods came out -- and even though everything I made was simple, I hope my contributions rose to the occasion.
Recipe: Mustard Batons from Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan; recipe also available on Dorie Greenspan's website, here.
I got a chance to try out one of the recipes from Around My French Table over the weekend, while we were in Wisconsin visiting Tom's mother to celebrate her 70th birthday. I generally dislike baking in other people's homes -- when I'm faced with unfamiliar equipment and an unknown oven, it always causes me great anxiety. I volunteered to make a few items for the birthday dinner that Tom was preparing, but I wanted to stick to some simple baked goods that would be difficult to screw up. It was the perfect opportunity to try out Greenspan's recipe for Mustard Batons.
This recipe is marvelously simple, and it calls for only three ingredients -- purchased puff pastry, dijon mustard, and an egg. You thaw the puff pastry, roll it out, spread on some mustard, fold over the pastry, cut it into strips, brush with egg wash, and bake. Fifteen minutes later, you have some beautiful golden breadsticks. And they are delicious!
I tried making half of the batons with Grey Poupon and the rest with a mixture of Grey Poupon and Gulden's brown mustard. We all agreed that the batons made with the Grey Poupon-Gulden's mix were better and more flavorful. But they were all good, even without any poppy seeds or sesame seeds on top.For my foolproof dessert, I threw together some cream puffs (which I filled with store-bought coffee ice cream) and hot fudge sauce. All in all, I was very pleased with the way my baked goods came out -- and even though everything I made was simple, I hope my contributions rose to the occasion.
Recipe: Mustard Batons from Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan; recipe also available on Dorie Greenspan's website, here.
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