I’ve always been a bit stumped by eggplant.  It’s such an underutilized vegetable and I’m one of the biggest offenders.  The things I’ve done to eggplant in the name of trying a new recipe really should be considered a crime.  We won’t discuss the ill-fated roasted eggplant pizza I attempted a few weeks back…trust me, it’s best for all involved.  But I think I finally got an eggplant dish right…which means it will be making numerous appearances at upcoming dinner parties (as soon as The Boy finishes our table…not that I’m putting any pressure on him or anything).

The thing I love most about eggplant is the fact that it takes on other flavors so easily.  The thing I hate most about eggplant?  The fact that it takes on other flavors so easily.  If you accidentally put a bit too much of something in with eggplant, the vegetable becomes overpowered by it.  And there isn’t a good way to compensate when you make such a mistake with eggplant.  But when you roast the eggplant, it gives it a smoky element and makes it easier to pair with other flavors.  That’s the beauty of baba ghanoush, a dish prevelant in both the Mediterranean and Arabic worlds.  It combines the complexity of roasted eggplant with the earthiness of Tahini, creating a big punch of  taste in even the smallest of bites. Baba ghanoush can be used as a dip or served along with other vegetables to create a salad.  To go with this dip, I made a quick and dirty naan using this Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day recipe (note: if you use this naan recipe, make sure to use CLARIFIED BUTTER…else you’ll end up with a smoked out kitchen like mine) .

You know what I love about the Daring Bakers Challenges?  I always learn lessons…lots and lots of lessons.  But before I get on to our lessons for this month, let me get the official stuff out of the way:

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

You’ll notice that all DB posts have the above lines in them.  That’s because the fabulous founders of the Daring Bakers, Lis of La Mia Cucina andIvonne of Cream Puffs in Venice have come up with a nifty blog checking system that allows for the DBers to be high tech!  I’m oddly enamored of this new system and felt the need to share…I have my quirks, we all know that.

But, as usual, I digress.  So on with the challenge!  When I first saw the DB Challenge for January, I immediately thought, “Oh, this is going to be easy.  There are only six ingredients.  How hard could this be?”  Oh what a silly, silly little girl I am.  I was lulled into a false sense of security because the recipe looked easy.  But as we all know, looks can be VERY deceiving.  So let’s break down how the first attempt at this challenge went:

6:05 pm (the night BEFORE the challenge was due):  I get out all the ingredients and whip up the batter.  Easy peasy, I think to myself.  I’m bopping around the kitchen listening to Christina Aguilera on Slacker.com (fantastic online radio site by the way…totally have a techie crush on it right now), thinking I’ll be done with this thing in no time.  I even confidently predict I’ll have the post finished and ready to publish way before that night’s new episode of Top Chef.  Oh what a silly, silly girl I am.

7:15 pm:  Realize I don’t have a stencil, but think “I went to a fine arts school…I can make one.”  Yeah…we won’t discuss how that went.

7:55 pm:  Finally get the tuiles in the oven.  Here’s the problem:  I didn’t have a Silpat mat OR parchment paper.  Both of which would have made getting the freakin’ tuiles off the baking sheet doable.  My bright idea?  Spray Pam on aluminum foil and put that on a baking sheet.  Yeah…we won’t discuss how that went either.

8:30 pm:  Crying in a corner because not only did the tuiles get stuck to the aforementioned aluminum foil, I didn’t really know how the heck to mold them well.  My fingers are still smarting from trying to get stuck (and did I mention piping hot) tuiles to mold around a wooden spoon.  The word disaster comes to mind.  Roo and Scout didn’t help matters by deciding at that precise moment to use my bar stool as their personal jungle gym.

So on my lunch break this afternoon, I headed over to the Bed Bath and Beyond for two things:  a Silpat mat and a cornet mold.  This is where I learned yet another very important lesson:  I should not be allowed to go to a store that sells kitchen gadgets unsupervised.  Actually, I was “supervised” by my co-worker Dan but he mostly talks about economics and ignores the fact that I’m buying half the store.  So I ended up with a few more things than I probably needed.  Another important lesson I learned:  the Bed Bath and Beyond near my office sucks ass (they didn’t have a stencil or a cornet mold).

The second attempt went MUCH smoother and I would definitely love to make these again.  I opted to make the savory tuile option (yayyyy!!! I love having options), which came from the cornet recipe from “The French Laundry Cookbook” by Thomas Keller.  I tweaked the recipe ever so slightly, omitting the black sesame seeds and instead using a sprinkling of fresh pecorino romano cheese on top of the dough.  I also put a nice little grind of fresh ground pepper into the dough, which gave the tuiles a lovely punch.

Savory tuile/cornet recipe
From Thomas Keller “the French Laundry Cookbook”

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)**
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.

There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.

Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.*** This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o’clock on a clock face) of the cornet.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.

When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.
Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.

We had to make something to go along with the tuiles, so I opted to make a roasted garlic hummus for dipping!  I used Mark Bittman’s recipe for hummus, using the mashed roasted garlic option for an add in.  And it was very rewarding to sit down to this lovely snack after the disaster that was Wednesday night.  I even watched my TiVo’d episode of Top Chef, allowing myself to pretend it was Wednesday night and all was a success.  Like I said, I have my quirks…but this should surprise no one.