Update to Petits Pains au Chocolat

From Not As Good As Pork Cracklins

I was gently chided for not writing about yesterday's post. The problem is that “A thousand words are worth a picture” – Anon, 327 BC - and I didn't have a thousand words. Which is surprising, because often I have so much to say and so little time to say it.

As requested (as I best recall, having been under duress during the request), here is some history and a few specifics:

History -- when Eric was a young teenager, we went to London and Paris on vacation. Meals were family events, but, as he had a young teenager appetite, he received a budget for snacks. He quickly acquired an affinity for pains au chocolate. Nearly as quickly he discovered that "day old" [read "discounted"] begins in the afternoon, or, not having to wait for the following day. Next, he learned how to tell if the croissant is pur beurre, based on whether it is crescent-shaped or not. But let's dispense with that. If it's pain au chocolate, its ends are straight, not tapered. Period.

Nonspecific specifics -- Yesterday's petits pains au chocolate were a dress rehearsal for a special occasion. I'm glad I went through it, because there were a couple of things I'm happy I got to do differently (namely higher temp & longer bake time). As a result, today's were flakier and shapelier. Flakey and shapely are good in most respects, including croissant. I like to make mine petit, meaning in this case, approximately three to a full-grown croissant. David Lebovitz recently wrote that everything in France gets diminuated, which I think, honestly, is not such a bad thing. I also like to add a turbinado sugar crust to mine, after the egg wash. These were excellent, I ate my fair share (but no more), and I was accused of (complimented for?) being a big eater considering that I am a small person.

That's it. That's all I've got. I got no nap today -- I lie! I did have a lovely morning nap, but not an afternoon one -- and I'm pooped.

Petits Pains au Chocolat

Tex-Mex Chocolate Cookies

Sometimes nothing you say is going to be right, and you should just be quiet. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Tex-Mex Chocolate Cookies

Grilled Halibut with Coriander-Pepita Butter

Big, big thanks to Larry & Sheri at Pork Cracklins for dinner inspiration.

Whoah! That sauce is YUMMY! It would be good on anything. Like vegetables.
Or a spoon. (Or my finger.)

Grilled Halibut with Coriander-Pepita Butter, Bon Appetit, June 2009

Chorizo

Homemade chorizo, on a pile of eggs scrambled with [not my] homegrown peppers, farmshare onions, tomatoes, and a little sprinkle of cilantro.

Animal Print Cookies

I have a vivid imagination. Whoever gave these cookies their original name does not.

Marbled Chocolate-Vanilla Cookies, Fine Cooking #54

Iced Sugar Cookies