Turnovers, Ice Cream and Compote Oh My!

 Last week, after a long two days, I came home and focused all my energy into making dessert - my own 'anxiety-relieving exercise'. I've had my share of failed ice cream attempts, but not enough to keep me from trying once more. When day one was near its end, I decided that I would conquer ice cream once and for all. All seemed to go well with the custard stirring, cooling and churning but I would have to wait overnight until it could be deemed successful. After having a taste of my ice cream on day two, I knew it needed a pair. A quick look in my fridge, freezer and Pinterest boards and I realized the perfect partner - strawberry rhubarb turnovers (the compote came later).

Vanilla Ice Cream
8 egg yolks

2 cups 2% milk

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream

Follow these instructions for making the custard (mine took about 20 minutes until it was thick) and let it stand for a couple minutes to cool. Stir the heavy cream into the custard and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pour the churned ice cream into a metal loaf pan, seal with plastic wrap (pressing it onto the ice cream) and chill overnight.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Turnovers

1 sheet phyllo pastry 

(I used a square of Tenderflake, rolled out into a large rectangle)

1 cup diced strawberries

1 cup diced rhubarb

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp powdered sugar

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon and ginger until the fruit is well coated. Cut the rolled out phyllo dough into 8 squares and place on the baking sheet. Leaving room around the edges, spoon the fruit filling onto the corner of each square, and fold over the empty corner. Seal the edges by pressing down with a fork. Brush the egg wash overtop each pastry and bake for 18-22 minutes, until they are golden brown. Sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar

I had some fruit filling left that I didn't want to waste, so I decided to make a compote. Simply put your leftover fruit mixture in a saucepan on medium heat and let it reduce until it is a thinner, jam like consistency. I also added a tablespoon more of sugar, and cut up a few more strawberries.

We had our turnovers topped with the vanilla ice cream and a spoonful of compote and oh-my-heavens, delish! The classic taste of the tart rhubarb with the sweet strawberries is not one to disappoint, and the smooth, creamy ice cream on top was the perfect addition.

Croissants

I am going to go ahead and make the assumption that out of all the people on Earth - who don't have careers as bakers - I am one of the few who dedicated their entire Saturday to making croissants. I wish I was exaggerating too. From when I woke up, before eating breakfast, I began the long process of making these deliciously buttery pastries, and finished right around the time many people would be going to bed: a total of thirteen hours. Now I have spent days baking before, but usually there is a hefty amount of product at the end, or one of the recipes took a few practices, but not croissants! As long as the process was I am also crazy enough to say that it was worth the seven pastries that resulted.

Having some time on my hands (and being afraid of the cold winds outside) I decided to put yet another Christmas gift to good use - Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The croissant recipe is in the second volume, along with various other French bread and pastry recipes. Though the recipes are intimidating at first, the instructions are so incredibly detailed that there were very few times (if any) that I felt completely lost at what I was doing. Julia guides you through each step of the process in a voice that is very much her own - I could almost imagine her teaching me the recipe in person. 

Given the detail of this recipe - and my lack of experience with pastries -there was no way I was about to make my own subtle changes, the croissants I made are entirely Julia's. This recipe takes a great deal of patience rather than skill. With every slight touch of the dough, time is added to its resting and rising times. The final rise, where the croissants are shaped and nearly ready for baking, is where I had the most trouble. The croissants need to rise at 75 F - and having no real idea on how to achieve this in my heat controlled apartment - so I made my own proofing setup in the kitchen. Though I knocked one of the trays over and lost a few it seemed to work just fine. Being lucky enough to have some homemade jam in the fridge, these croissants were the perfect pairing for my cup of tea this morning. In the words of Julia,                                                           Bon Appétit!

Note: I couldn't seem to find the exact recipe I used online, however this one is a great alternative seeing as it's from Julia Child's cooking show, the French Chef.