Making a papillote may look complicated, but it takes only a little practice to turn a simple piece of parchment paper into a flavor- and moisture-trapping envelope.
Start with a sheet of parchment paper about twenty inches long. Fold it in half, then open it back up. Put the filling in the center of the fold.Next, fold the paper over so the two ends meet, enclosing the food. Beginning at either end of the center crease, make small, overlapping diagonal folds around the filling, sealing the papillote tight.You'll end up with a half-crescent shape that looks sort of like a fried pie. Now just put the papillote on a roasting pan and slide it into the oven.
In French, to cook something en papillote means to cook it in a folded pouch of parchment paper that is tightly sealed before baking.
Cooking en papillote is healthy and flavorful, as it seals in the juices of and steam-cooks whatever's inside. We love to cook fish with herbs, aromatics, wine and a smidgen of optional butter or oil. Individual papillotes can be prepared ahead of time and cooked at the last minute. (We recommend doing this if you're making them for more than two people.) Serve them unopened and let each person inhale the heady rush of aroma that escapes when the papillote is sliced open.
Papillotes can also be made using aluminum foil; these work beautifully on the grill (or over low coals in the fireplace). Foil pouches can simply be creased shut. The parchment variety can be folded as well, but they also benefit from the extra security of staples or a paper clip.
Bananas en papillote made with Grand Marnier and fresh oranges is an easy desert. "Papillote" is also the name of an old-fashioned Lyonnaise bonbon as well as the frilly paper used to dress up the bones on a rack of lamb.
Reference: How to fold a papillote (Cookthink)
Parchment paper is moisture- and grease-resistant heavy paper that's useful in the kitchen, whether you're making a pouch to cook something en papillote, lining a baking pan to prevent a cake or other preparation from sticking, in need of a pastry bag, or making a collar to line a soufflé dish.
Parchment is made by coating thick paper with silicone that allows it to resist heat and sticking, meaning that you don't have to use extra grease when baking. Unlike wax paper, parchment paper is durable and will not burn.
Calzones are easy to prepare at home. While having a pizza or bread stone certainly helps to make a crisp crust, you can bake calzones on a heavy sheet pan with great results.
Start with the best pizza dough you can find, or make some yourself.
Using approximately 6 ounces of dough per calzone results in a good shape and serving size; since the vast majority of pizza shops use 12-ounce balls of dough per pizza, it's also an easy weight to find. Making your own dough can be rewarding, but it's simpler to buy some from a local pizza place or market for a few dollars.
Flatten out the half-ball of dough into a rough oval. It's more important that the dough be stretched to an even thickness than be a uniform shape, since you are going to fold it over and crimp the edges to seal it.
Start your calzones off with a base layer of cheese; fresh ricotta is shown here. The cheese makes a good bed for the rest of the ingredients.
Distribute the calzone fillings of your choice evenly over the cheese, avoiding the urge to overstuff. The calzone will puff up during baking and a large mound of ingredients could cause the dough to split and break. Make sure to leave an appropriate border around the edge for crimping -- about 1 1/2-inches of untopped dough.
Fold, pull and gently stretch the top of the dough oval to cover the ingredients. Lightly press the edges together and prepare to crimp. A few dabs of water may help if your dough feels dry to the touch.
Start to crimp from one edge, gently rolling the dough over your finger and pressing in firmly. The dough will adhere to itself and create a decorative finish as you crimp around the edge.
Not only does the finished edge look nice, but it's firmly closed around the filling and will keep the calzone together as it rises and bakes.
Cutting a series of small vents into the top of the calzone will let steam from the filling to escape, preventing an explosion in your preheated 500F oven.
A light sprinkling of coarse cornmeal helps prevent the calzone from sticking to the pizza peel and baking stone as well as lending a slight crunch to the crust. If you do not have a baking stone, a preheated baking sheet covered with parchment paper works well to create a nice crust on calzones and pizzas.
Wait a few minutes for your baked calzones to cool down and serve with a side of tomato sauce if you'd like.
A pavlova is the national dessert of New Zealand and Australia. A light, elegant disk of meringue topped with whipped cream and fruit, it's a snap to assemble.
Cornstarch and vinegar are often added to the meringue mixture before baking to give it a crisp exterior and a pillowy interior. You can top your pavlova with whatever kind of fruit you like -- kiwi, passion fruit, raspberries, peaches, or pomegranate seeds for Christmas, when it is often served.
The pavlova was named for Anna Pavlova, a lightfooted Russian ballerina, during her visit to Australia in 1929, though the New Zealanders claim to have invented it first.
Recipe: Pomegranate Pavlova With Mixed Fruit (Cookthink)
