I'm on vacation until Friday, so lots of time on my hands, I decided to make
croissants. The basic recipe I followed is in _Baking With Julia_, an
outstanding book which features recipes from a PBS cooking series where
Julia Child showcased some of the best bakers in the USA.

Concurrently, I decided to see if I could come up with novel uses for my
food dehydrator.

The results were pleasing. Besides the plain croissants, I made:

chocolate croissants (with a bar of Valhrona chocolate in the middle): This
is what prompted me to make croissants in the first place; I can't find any
good chocolate croissants locally, and I had a hankering for one or two.

guava-cantaloupe-chev Made from guava paste, dehydrated cantaloupe, and
Humboldt Fog cheese. This will be breakfast tomorrow, along with some Kona
coffee and an omelet with lots of chopped ham.

pear-blue cheese-walnut: With lots of concentrated (and partially
caramelized) pear butter, small chunks of blue cheese, and big chunks of
walnuts. (As I write this, I'm nibbling one of these and sipping a glass of
port. Life is good.)

raspberry-apricot lekvar-cream cheese: Lekvar is a Hungarian preserves which
uses the skin of the fruit as well as the pulp. This brand also had slivered
almonds in it.

membrillo-manchego: Membrillo is quince paste. (In turn, quince is a
relative of the apple. It's not very sweet or juicy, but it *is* extremely
fragrant.) If you have a passing acquaintance with tapas, you've probably
seen this combination; it's an extremely popular Spanish snack.


I want to figure out a way to get mascarpone cheese into a croissant, but
it's quite runny and I'm not sure how to proceed. Maybe I can make a
mascarpone mousse which will firm as it bakes, like a cheesecake or a
macaroon? Stay tuned...

Bob