Friday, June 22, 2012

David's Seaweed Sablés

Possibly the most unusual FFWD recipe to date.......
















Per Nana:

This was such an interesting group of ingredients that  could 
not  imagine the end result. The nori was easy enough to purchase,
 but  there were no instructions other than to make sushi.
I researched  the internet and the only information I could find 
was to heat it in a fry pan until the color turned green.  Actually, mine 
started to turn brown so I decided that was not good.   When I tasted the
 nori I was undecided whether or not to continue with the recipe -
the taste was horrible.  When I finally stopped tasting fish, 
I decided to go ahead and finish.
The batter mixed  well  and I gathered it into a ball and cut it
in half, making (2) 8" rolls that I refrigerated for several hours.
I baked each tray separately as Dorie suggested and only had 
to add about two minutes to the cooking time.
I was really surprised  how well they turned out.  Different,  but nice. 
 A bit like a cookie, but with the salt topping, it was also a  little like
 a snack type cracker.  It did not have the flavor of seaweed or fish as the
 nori did when I tasted it plain. I would like  to use this recipe again with some
 of the other ingredients that Dorie suggests, such as the olives or the cheese.
  All of these additions would make a great snack to have with a glass of wine. 


Per Tricia:
Sorry to "bail" again but Nana also made these far in advance and I 
still have a container of the "shrimp cookies" sitting on my counter.  
Needless to say - we simply didn't need another batch.  I don't believe 
the last ones are going to get consumed as it is.

This is not to say that these were a disaster. 
 Taste testing the "seaweed cookies" was quite the adventure around
 here.  My husband and sons all agreed that it was a very "confusing" item
 to describe  since it was clearly sweet yet clearly salty as well.  Sort of a 
rich and savory Danish butter cookie with a lot of salt. Even while eating 
them  we could not quite get our heads and taste  buds around these. 
The truth is that there was a distinct fishey after taste and none of us
 wanted to keep consuming this amount of butter and sugar 
for a  "fish cookie".  Interesting or not.  And it was interesting.  
Thanks Dorie, for the adventure and thanks Nana, for the hard work.

Happy French Friday.

16 comments:

  1. Cute post, ladies :-) I have a mental image of Nana tasting the nori and deliberating...

    Well, graduation's tonight and then we are headed off for vacation. Can't believe how quickly things are moving along!

    Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, your photos reminded me that I forgot to sprinkle my sables with salt. Oh, well. Yours look great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm with Tricia on these. Mine were much too sweet and at the same time much too salty and it just didn't work. Interesting, but I can't see making them again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I actually enjoyed these cookies…I happen to like the salty/sweet taste! I didn’t get much of a fishy flavor. Your cookies look lovely, Nana! I really enjoyed your post, ladies! Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I actually liked these a lot. Some mixed reactions when I originally served them (with a nice glass of wine as suggested). I liked them. They definitely grew on me. Today when I brought the leftovers to the office, they were a hit! I think some other flavors would be good.

    Um, shrimp cookies...?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nana, your sables look great, glad you gave them a go. I quite liked them - which surprised me no end.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Interesting - I did not taste the seaweed at all in ours. I loved them as you know. What I loved most was the awesome dough - I will be using that for regular shortbread cookies again!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I enjoyed them but the others weren't as enthusiastic. Everyone seemed to like the one I made them have but nobody reached for a second. I think if we were in Paris everyone would have enjoyed them more.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yeah, I think I might have tried these with cheese...had to laugh at Nana's comments :)Not sure I would ever be in the mood for a cookie with a fishy aftertaste...LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I couldn't really taste the fishiness either. I could taste the salt though. I was sure my kids would hate them, but they ended up being a big hit at our house!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I agree, these savoury cocktail nibbles aka curious as to how they would turn out but I also received only mixed reviews when I served them and do not believe that I will make them again anytime soon. But, again, a fun experience and I love to try out recipes with such interesting ingredients. Loved reading your post(s)!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  12. We didn't get a fishy aftertaste when we ate ours. Just the sweet/salty/buttery taste. I like how golden yours are, Nana!

    ReplyDelete
  13. They certainly look nice! I like the cookies, but like Tricia I couldn't quite justify the calories to eat the leftovers.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nana, if I were a betting woman I would not have put my $$$ on you and your husband liking these. What is it about seaweed, sugar and butter that belongs together? I thought about your Post discussing your serving a pitcher of, was it old-fashioneds, and Lipton Onion Dip at the bridge table (I think I have the story right). How would that gang have felt about seaweed cookies? The thought of it makes me laugh. Tricia, I'm with you and your family on this one. Why waste the calories on a fabulous butter and sugar French shortbread to which seaweed has been added?!?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your pictures show a lovely cookie, despite the not-so-happy fishy aftertaste! I don´t know since I made them with sesame seeds and loved them. And adventure,definitely, though I don´t see anyone making them again!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This cookie definitely got mixed reviews. I agree, Nana, I'm looking forward to trying some of the other variations. There is something great about homemade crackers.

    ReplyDelete