Friday dawned clear and bright. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning; rain had been forecast for the entire week. The sunshine gave me energy, but I chose not to go to fitness at 9:30. I had a bit of a sore back and lots to do during the day, and I wanted to be in decent form for my guests, so instead of fitness, I went walking with my fellow dog walkers.
But before the walk, I did dusting and vacuuming throughout the place, I measured out all the ingredients I’d need to make the choux paste, and I drew guide lines onto parchment to guide me as I piped the pastry out for baking. I was set to go the moment I got back from the walk.
By the time I got out the door to meet my friends, it had clouded over. Sigh. But we had a great walk together. However, I could hardly wait to get to making the choux paste. It’s been years since I used my notes and recipes from my baking course so many years ago. I just hoped it would work and rise properly when I made it. I was not looking forward to tempering the chocolate. I had to use an untested thermometer to assess the temperature of the chocolate.
When chocolate hardens, it can harden into a solid 8 different ways. The fat molecules of chocolate can solidify in eight different shapes as it cools. It all depends on the temperature of the chocolate when it is left to cool. Tempered chocolate is bright and shiny, and it will not develop a (white, fuzzy) bloom in storage, but it is hard to do well without a thermometer that has true calibration.
I was dubious at first. I thought I’d made them too small, but in the end, I was delighted with their size and the tempering of the chocolate. The eclairs turned out nice and shiny, and chuck full of crème pâtissière. I think they’ll go over well with my guests.
Once all my baking was done (2:00 pm), I moved onto tidying and cleaning before heading off to play fetch at Rollo Park with Shebie. I loved being in the sunshine, and fetch is her favourite thing on earth to do, so we both came home satisfied with our afternoon romp. She headed for our bed, and I kept myself busy with chores in advance of the arrival of ‘the boys’ at 5:30.
By 4:00 I was ready for bed. What a hell of a lot of work entertaining is when one is single. So, I had a nap knowing Sheba would bark when anyone arrived, and that’s exactly what happened. We had a great night, as always; we are very compatible people, and I am very comfortable being a listener. But I did tell a couple of short stories so that I felt part of the evening. I couldn’t wish for better friends.
When I finally lay my head down for the night, I could not get to sleep. Eventually, of course, I did sleep, but today will be all about the couch and reading. I’ve another dinner to host here next weekend, so today I start re-charging my batteries.
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