The Rip-Off

I get a little worked up about culinary plagiarism, as I might have mentioned once or twice before. There is a restaurant here in Sydney which is consistently rated in the very top echelon of the City's dining scene. The meal I had there was technically flawless, worthy of Michelin Stars, but for one thing: three of the six courses we ate that evening were direct copies of dishes I've seen elsewhere. I'd seen them in my cookbooks at home, to be more precise, and what was presented to me at the table could have been the photographic twin of the dishes in my books at home. I can, on some level, appreciate the technical ability required to re-create these meals, but I didn't then, and don't now, understand why the wholesale duplication of another, sometimes well-known, dish qualifies one for “best-of-the-best” status in Sydney. If I copied the same dishes and sold them in the bistro I now run I'd be called a copy-cat. However, when one fine-dining chef rips another fine dining chef off, it's rewarded, and called artistry. I don't get it. What happened to originality?



My wife, with whom I shared both the meal and the trepidations, took the opportunity, not long after our meal, to confront Sydney's preeminent food critic on talk back radio, when he happened to be a guest. Why, she (and I) wanted to know, did this blatant plagiarism go either unnoticed or ignored? Why are we eating food conceived and designed by chefs in another hemisphere and paying dearly for the privilege. The Critic failed to explain, really, saying something along the lines that the execution was good enough to merit a nearly perfect rating.

Really? Perfect copying is just as good as innovation? I can't buy that. Imagine if that same principle applied to all consumer goods: Sure your iphone is a fake, but it is a pretty good replica, so what's the problem?

I suspect that distance has a fair bit to to with this attitude. iphones are shipped all over the world, signature dishes from European restaurants are not. An Ozzy chef wants to try his hand at some of the in-vogue dishes made by his European peers and the local food circles turn something of a blind eye to the fact, as it might just be the most simple way of tasting what's going on on the other culinary side of the world.

Still, I expect more from the leaders of the Australian culinary movement. I'm just sayin'.



This week, I am doing absolutely nothing to advance the cause, for I am ripping off a North American recipe. Well, not exactly. To be more precise, I am trying to reproduce one. Here in Oz, you see, we have these cookies called Tim-Tams. They are, and this is science, more addictive than heroin. Australia should use these little chocolate, cookie, and salty caramel numbers in lieu of international currency. I've learned, since moving here, to be cautious as to which of my friends and family in the States I expose to Tim-Tams, as I can only afford to meet the export needs of so many relatives.

Now, there is a cookie that exists in America which I crave in much the same way. The Girls Scouts Of America go door to door selling cookies every year, and one variety is the absolutely irresistible: Samoas. These chocolate, caramel, and coconut cookies, also called Caramel deLites, are possibly the greatest example of cookietry known to man. I love them, and as they are not easy to come by in OZ, am going to make a batch.

Well, no. Because the version you buy for the Girl Scouts are hexagon doughnut-shaped. Not only is replecating this step terribly time consuming, it means that there is a little hole missing out of each cookie you get. No thank you, Ma'am. Instead, I am making one giant cookie, and then cutting it into bars, giant ones sure to encourage over-consumption.



Samoas Rip Off Bars

(Let there be no confusion as to the origin.)

Cookie Base

125g sugar
175g butter, room temp
1 egg
1/2 vanilla pod scraped
250g flour
pinch salt

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla seeds and mix well. Add in the flour and salt and mix until just combined. Turn into a baking paper-lined tray and press out until it fills the pan in an even, smooth layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until just browning on the edges. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan.

Chocolate

Right. This step is simple. You melt some chocolate, then spread it on. What's that you say? I don't temper the chocolate? That's right, both because I'm a pastry cowboy, and because I plan on eating all of these before anyone will have time to notice un-tempered chocolate.

250g dark chocolate

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Flip your cooled cookie base upside down and, using a pastry spatula, spread the chocolate in a thin, even layer on to the flat surface. Allow to cool completely and then set in the fridge.



Coconut

Choose unsweetened dried coconut for this, as these cookies are already sweet enough.

3 cups dried coconut

Preheat your oven to 160ºC. Spread the coconut out on a tray and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally15-25 minutes, until golden.

Caramel

This recipe makes about 500g of chewy caramel, but you'll only need 400g of it to make to cookies. Just pour the rest into a container lined with baking paper, and then cut them into caramels and wrap in waxed paper when cooled.
250ml cream
60ml sweetened condensed milk
250ml glucose syrup
250g sugar
60ml water
60g butter

Combine the cream and condensed milk in a small pot on low heat, stirring to dissolve the condensed milk. Heat until hot but not boiling.

Meanwhile, stir together the glucose, sugar, and water in a large pot with steep sides. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium, boiling until the mixture reaches a temperature of 121ºC. Add the butter and warm cream mix and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook slowly, stirring often, until the temperature reaches 118ºC. This step should take at least an hour, as the slow cooking allows the caramel flavors to develop deep roasted sugar characteristics, rater than scalded milk and burnt sugar.

Mix 400g of the caramel together with the toasted coconut (above) and spread onto the non-chocolate side of the cookie base (also above). Cool, cut into squares, and drizzle with a bit more melted chocolate if you wish.