Auntie Karens Fireman Surprise Food

LE POUSSIN EN SURPRISE

Steps:

• Combine marjoram, rosemary, 1 teaspoon thyme and basil with salad oil in small pot. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Strain through fine sieve and discard herbs. Drown bird in oil and add wine. Marinate for 3 hours, refrigerated
• Meanwhile, fry pork fat in heavy saucepan until mostly rendered. Remove and discard crisp fatty pieces. Add onion and shallot. Lower heat and add remaining thyme and bay leaf. Add chicken livers and cook until browned. Remove bay leaf and pass liver mixture through a meat grinder or sieve.
• After bird has marinated, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dry bird thoroughly inside and out with paper towels and place sieved 'pate' into rear cavity. Remold bird to its natural shape and secure both ends with poultry pins, then truss. Season bird with salt and white pepper, coat with clarified butter, and roast at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 60 minutes, until nicely browned and tender. Remove from the oven.
• Turn up oven to 450 degrees F. Cut 1 (20 by 18-inch) sheet of parchment paper in a heart shape. Grease well with clarified butter or oil. Place cooked chicken on one side of the heart, remove string and pins and enclose it in paper, pleating edges together to secure (use staples, if you have to!). Heat a little oil in large skillet and add parchment package. The air inside will expand, forcing the package to 'blow up'. When fully expanded, grease the outer surface and place in oven until lightly browned and remove immediately. To serve, open bag and cut bird in two.

BROWNIES WITH A SURPRISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate together in a metal bowl over simmering water. Remove from over water and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla. Whisk only to blend. Add chocolate mixture and whisk gently. Add flour and salt and use the whisk to stir in until blended. Grease a 12 by 12-inch square pan, and line the bottom with parchment. Pour a scant half of the brownie batter into pan and spread smooth. Place the 16 peanut butter cups upside-down onto the batter, spacing them evenly in 4 rows of 4 (the brownies will be cut into 16 squares, with a peanut butter cup in the center of each.) Push the cups down into the batter slightly. Top with the remaining batter and gently spread smooth. Bake 30 minutes. Center will still be soft. Remove from oven and let cool in pan on wire rack. Cool completely before cutting, or for best cutting results, chill several hours or overnight in refrigerator. Cut into 16 (3-inch) squares.

ALIEN COOKIE SURPRISE

Steps:

• For the vanilla sugar cookies: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light, fluffy and blended. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Adjust the mixer to low speed; mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until well incorporated, and then the salt. Remove the dough from the mixer, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Use an oval cookie cutter to cut out 24 cookies, placing 12 of the cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Top each of the cookies on the baking sheet with 1/2 teaspoon of the chocolate chips, then top each with a second oval-shaped piece of cookie dough, pressing the edges to seal. Bake until the cookies are beginning to brown around the edges, 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• For the cinnamon-cream cheese-bourbon jelly: Meanwhile, place the gelatin powder in a small bowl and stir in the water until the gelatin is dissolved. Let sit for 5 minutes, then add the bourbon and mix until combined.
• Place the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well with a hand-held blender.
• Add the cream cheese and mix until the mixture has a nice and creamy consistency. Add the gelatin mixture and mix until well combined.
• Pour into an 8-inch square pan and refrigerate until the jelly is set and completely firm to the touch, about 1 hour. With the oval cutter, cut out 12 pieces of the jelly and place on top of the sugar cookies.
• For the rosemary bonbons: Fill a pastry bag with the melted dark chocolate disc. Pipe the chocolate into the shell chocolate mold; tap the mold to remove any air bubbles. Flip the mold over, tap out any excess chocolate, and then scrape the top of the mold to remove any excess chocolate. Refrigerate the mold until the chocolate is hard, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the granulated sugar and glucose syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves and turns into a light caramel. Add the heavy cream and rosemary and cook until the caramel comes to a boil; remove from the heat and let the mixture cool. Strain the caramel through a fine-mesh sieve, add the melted milk chocolate and butter, and blend with a hand-held blender. Spoon the caramel mixture into a pastry bag and fill the remainder of the cavities on the chocolate mold. Place the mold in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, then top off with another layer of dark chocolate. Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, then release the chocolates from the mold.
• For the royal icing: Mix together the meringue powder and water in a bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Adjust the consistency with more water as needed. Divide the icing between 2 bowls. Add the green food coloring to 1 bowl and the black to the other; mix well. Fill 2 pastry bags with the icings.
• Decorate the bonbons with alien expressions and use the icing to adhere one bonbon to the top of each cookie. Let set before serving, 15 minutes.