It’s been a while since I offered up a recipe for my blog-reading pretties. Apologies for that but I haven’t been cooking a lot of normal food lately. I guess that’s the curse of baking for a business – you spend so much time in the kitchen making baked goods that the last thing you want to do when you’re done is cook dinner. But without further ado, please enjoy this recipe for Baked Cheesy Mashed Potatoes. It is quite yummy. Dave and I ate almost half of it – just the 2 of us.
Baked Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.
Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return the potatoes to the same pot and mash well. Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes.
Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead of time; cover and chill.
Bake, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes. I turned on the broiler for the last 2-3 minutes of baking to brown up the bread crumbs into a nice crunchy crust. Yum!
Monday, February 27, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Lookin' for some sugar in the Windy City
What do you usually feel like doing on a Saturday when it’s 5 degrees outside? Hibernate, perhaps? Take in a movie, you say? How about conducting a whirlwind 9-stop bakery tour of Chicago? Ha! I thought not. Market research in the baked-goods industry is not for the faint-hearted or unbundled.
So now you know what I was doing last Saturday. My faithful and wind-chill impervious friend Caron agreed to be my chauffer/tour guide/partner in crime for this expedition around the city. Armed with a list of places known for their baked goods (mainly cupcakes), a camera, and multiple layers of clothing – including ear muffs and warm hats – we set out. The goal was to gather samples from all bakeries and take them someplace warm for a taste test. Since my host for this weekend, dear friend Cynthia, was suffering through a bad cold we decided to comfort her with sweets so we headed for her house.
Here’s a summary of our trip. (For the purpose of brevity I will spare you the gossip and witty commentary that Caron and I exchanged throughout the afternoon – despite it being the best part of the trip!)
Stop #1 Alliance Bakery 1736 Division St, Chicago (773)278-0366 http://www.alliance-bakery.com/bakery.com/
Alliance is set in an old bakery building, complete with old neon sign. However, the stuffy old exterior belies a progressive interior – complete with colorful fondant cakes, pasteries….and cupcakes. Alliance’s cupcakes ranged in flavor, however we ended up selecting a Chocolate cupcake with Chocolate frosting and a Carot Cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Packaging was interesting – they use cylindrical pre-fab paper wraps that provide a little more cake than your standard cupcake baking papers. They were similar in size to the cupcakes I produce by baking in a ring mold. Packaging consisted of a pink cardboard carton – which was too big for the 2 that we ordered….so there was risk of tippage and commingling of frostings. I don’t have a picture of the Alliance bakery because it was here that I discovered that my digi-cam was in desperate need of a battery recharge. Drat.
Stop #2 Caron’s Two-Flat South Lincoln Square area, Chicago
Ingenious woman that she is, Caron suggested we get her camera and swap memory cards. That way we wouldn’t have to mess with getting the pictures to me. Problem solved, and…we’re off.
Stop #3 First Slice 3744 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago (773 506 1719) http://www.firstslice.org/w.firstslice.org/
First Slice is not a b
akery – but we were famished, so Caron suggested this new little gem. First Slice is a small restaurant that was founded as a vehicle for raising money to provide food to Chicago’s hungry. It is a self-funding charity that gives Chicago’s hungriest access to food that sustains both body and soul. They do so by bringing together community subscribers, homeless individuals and famili
es to share in the preparation of nutritious meals. We had lunch there, and were able to continue our quest for yummy desserts by having one of these. This is a Chocolate Espresso Shot. It’s kind of like a flourless chocolate torte, however it is extremely moist inside. Almost too moist, we agreed, however still tasty.
Stop #4 Cupcakes 613 W. Briar Place, Chicago (773-525-0817) http://www.cupcakesacrossamerica.com/
I had a special reason for wanting to visit this place – I used to live a
block from where they are. It’s a good thing they weren’t yet in business when I lived there because I would probably have become a regular – and my pants size would have become an XXL. It’s a cute little place. All they do is cupcakes – as the name implies. They feature 6-8 varieties that change weekly – and are receiving a lot of national press right now. Caron and I chose 3 to take with us: Vanilla with Champagne buttercream, Red Velvet and Violet with White Chocolate Buttercream. They charge a stiff $3.00 each and packaging consists of a clear plastic clamshell container like you’d get at Kroger/Jewel, etc. When asked why they did not package their cupcakes in the Chinese take-out containers as advertised they explained that they had problem with the cupcakes tipping over in them, and that it was currently being assessed as to whether anything could be done to prevent this. Boo Hiss! I thought it was a very clever packaging idea – however if it ends up impacting the look of the product, I guess it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Stop #5 Sweet Mandy B’s 1208 W Webster Ave Chicago (773-244-1174)
This is another bake shop that’s getting a lot of press right now – even on a national level. Their schtick is to produce fresh-baked goods that are as close to what mom made as possible. Their store is very charming with lots of room to sit and linger, the selection is broad and the added benefit is their sushi bar-like counter where you can sit and watch the creation of many types of baked goods. In terms of cupcakes their selection was very narrow – vanilla and chocolate. We got one of each, plus a piece of this gooey apple caramel cake for good measure.
Stop #6 The TAG Outlet Store 1730 W. Wrightwood, Chicago
Ok, so this wasn’t a bakery stop – but a girl’s gotta shop. I never miss an opportunity to stop at TAG when I’m in the city, even if I don’t buy anything – which I didn’t this time. That’s not to say that I didn’t want to…..I was just exercising my little-used fiscal responsibility (hi, Sweetie!).
Stop #7 Vanille Patisserie 2229 N Clybourn Ave Chicago (773.868.4574) http://www.vanillepatisserie.com/
This place is beautiful. Beautiful food, beautiful décor, beautiful packag
ing. You name it. Beautiful. They didn’t have cupcakes, but focus mostly on chocolates and beautiful individual desserts. So – we ordered a profiterole tart and an iced sugar cookie. The packaging alone was worth the order. Look at these beautiful boxes. Unfortunately when I asked if their packaging was custom-order the woman behind the counter sniffed and said she had no idea. Interestingly enough – Caron and I looked through their photo books of cakes they have done and they are not above doing character cakes. Kind of an interesting juxtaposition, don’t you think? One more beef here – the cookie I bought – a little purse – had these pearls on them which we discovered to be inedible. Why would you put something inedible on a cookie?? Why?
Stop #8 Southport Grocery 3552 N. Southport, Chicago (773) 665-0100 http://www.southportgrocery.com/
This is not really a grocery, but a conglomeration of trendy table service restaurant, pre-made take-home meals and a few packaged grocery items. They were identified by Chicago Magazine as having the best tasting cupcake in town – out of a dozen or more that they samples. I bought one chocolate and one vanilla (both with vanilla buttercream) and we moved on.
Stop #9 Sweet Occasions 5306 North Clark Chicago 773.275.5190 http://www.sweetoccasionsandmore.com/
Sweet Occasions had chocolate and vanilla cupcakes….and this awesome looking chocolate cake with peanutbutter buttercream frosting. The thing was 5” high if it was an inch. So of course we took all three!
Onward to the tasting. We laid everything out at Cynthia's house and cut the cupcakes into 4 bites. Then we made plates of everything (it took 2 per person to hold all of this) and got to work. Here are some conclusions:
Pricing
The range for cupcakes was $1.75-$3.00 with $2.00 being the most common. Cupcakes, which was the only all-cupcake bakery charged $3.00, which seems a little steep for what you get. On the other hand, Alliance Bakery charged $1.75 and had the largest cupcakes we found. I decided that while Columbus is not familiar with cupcake pricing, so $2.50 might seem expensive, the cupcakes I make are larger than normal, individually wrapped and tied, and are also filled. (None of the cupcakes we tried were filled…just frosted).
Packaging
I wish Vanille Patisserie did cupcakes – because I would love to see how they package them. Their packaging is awesome. They definitely get the big thumbs up. The others were just thrown into a bakery box or plastic clamshell. This is another area where I can differentiate myself.
Overall Taste
The four of us decided that Southport Grocery’s vanilla cupcake with vanilla chocolate buttercream was the best tasting of all that we tried. I would say the Champagne buttercream cupcake from Cupcake was #2.
Frosting
We noticed that some bakeries are still using Crisco-based frosting, which none of us cared for. It gives a gritty feel when chewing. We also noticed that some of the buttercream frosting was a bit too buttery. Note to self: Make sure to balance the butter flavor with other ingredients. Another favorite was the peanut butter buttercream. I think I’ll take a stab at that….and the Champagne buttercream too.
Best of the non-cupcake desserts
Our favorite was the profiterole tart from Vanille Patisserie. Aside from bein
g a work of art, it was delicious. A close second was the apple cake with caramel topping from Sweet Mandy B’s. What’s not to love about caramel apple? My take-away here is that I need to start developing some individual desserts focused on apple. (I love apple-based desserts anyway,)
So there you have it. I suppose this post isn’t so interesting….unless you plan to go to Chicago sometime soon…or of course you live there. At any rate I do have some new ideas for my business….and a couple extra lbs and frostbite to show for it. Thanks so much to my homies who made this possible!!
So now you know what I was doing last Saturday. My faithful and wind-chill impervious friend Caron agreed to be my chauffer/tour guide/partner in crime for this expedition around the city. Armed with a list of places known for their baked goods (mainly cupcakes), a camera, and multiple layers of clothing – including ear muffs and warm hats – we set out. The goal was to gather samples from all bakeries and take them someplace warm for a taste test. Since my host for this weekend, dear friend Cynthia, was suffering through a bad cold we decided to comfort her with sweets so we headed for her house.
Here’s a summary of our trip. (For the purpose of brevity I will spare you the gossip and witty commentary that Caron and I exchanged throughout the afternoon – despite it being the best part of the trip!)
Stop #1 Alliance Bakery 1736 Division St, Chicago (773)278-0366 http://www.alliance-bakery.com/bakery.com/
Alliance is set in an old bakery building, complete with old neon sign. However, the stuffy old exterior belies a progressive interior – complete with colorful fondant cakes, pasteries….and cupcakes. Alliance’s cupcakes ranged in flavor, however we ended up selecting a Chocolate cupcake with Chocolate frosting and a Carot Cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Packaging was interesting – they use cylindrical pre-fab paper wraps that provide a little more cake than your standard cupcake baking papers. They were similar in size to the cupcakes I produce by baking in a ring mold. Packaging consisted of a pink cardboard carton – which was too big for the 2 that we ordered….so there was risk of tippage and commingling of frostings. I don’t have a picture of the Alliance bakery because it was here that I discovered that my digi-cam was in desperate need of a battery recharge. Drat.
Stop #2 Caron’s Two-Flat South Lincoln Square area, Chicago
Ingenious woman that she is, Caron suggested we get her camera and swap memory cards. That way we wouldn’t have to mess with getting the pictures to me. Problem solved, and…we’re off.
Stop #3 First Slice 3744 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago (773 506 1719) http://www.firstslice.org/w.firstslice.org/
First Slice is not a b
akery – but we were famished, so Caron suggested this new little gem. First Slice is a small restaurant that was founded as a vehicle for raising money to provide food to Chicago’s hungry. It is a self-funding charity that gives Chicago’s hungriest access to food that sustains both body and soul. They do so by bringing together community subscribers, homeless individuals and famili
es to share in the preparation of nutritious meals. We had lunch there, and were able to continue our quest for yummy desserts by having one of these. This is a Chocolate Espresso Shot. It’s kind of like a flourless chocolate torte, however it is extremely moist inside. Almost too moist, we agreed, however still tasty.Stop #4 Cupcakes 613 W. Briar Place, Chicago (773-525-0817) http://www.cupcakesacrossamerica.com/
I had a special reason for wanting to visit this place – I used to live a
block from where they are. It’s a good thing they weren’t yet in business when I lived there because I would probably have become a regular – and my pants size would have become an XXL. It’s a cute little place. All they do is cupcakes – as the name implies. They feature 6-8 varieties that change weekly – and are receiving a lot of national press right now. Caron and I chose 3 to take with us: Vanilla with Champagne buttercream, Red Velvet and Violet with White Chocolate Buttercream. They charge a stiff $3.00 each and packaging consists of a clear plastic clamshell container like you’d get at Kroger/Jewel, etc. When asked why they did not package their cupcakes in the Chinese take-out containers as advertised they explained that they had problem with the cupcakes tipping over in them, and that it was currently being assessed as to whether anything could be done to prevent this. Boo Hiss! I thought it was a very clever packaging idea – however if it ends up impacting the look of the product, I guess it’s time to go back to the drawing board.Stop #5 Sweet Mandy B’s 1208 W Webster Ave Chicago (773-244-1174)
This is another bake shop that’s getting a lot of press right now – even on a national level. Their schtick is to produce fresh-baked goods that are as close to what mom made as possible. Their store is very charming with lots of room to sit and linger, the selection is broad and the added benefit is their sushi bar-like counter where you can sit and watch the creation of many types of baked goods. In terms of cupcakes their selection was very narrow – vanilla and chocolate. We got one of each, plus a piece of this gooey apple caramel cake for good measure.
Stop #6 The TAG Outlet Store 1730 W. Wrightwood, Chicago
Ok, so this wasn’t a bakery stop – but a girl’s gotta shop. I never miss an opportunity to stop at TAG when I’m in the city, even if I don’t buy anything – which I didn’t this time. That’s not to say that I didn’t want to…..I was just exercising my little-used fiscal responsibility (hi, Sweetie!).
Stop #7 Vanille Patisserie 2229 N Clybourn Ave Chicago (773.868.4574) http://www.vanillepatisserie.com/
This place is beautiful. Beautiful food, beautiful décor, beautiful packag
ing. You name it. Beautiful. They didn’t have cupcakes, but focus mostly on chocolates and beautiful individual desserts. So – we ordered a profiterole tart and an iced sugar cookie. The packaging alone was worth the order. Look at these beautiful boxes. Unfortunately when I asked if their packaging was custom-order the woman behind the counter sniffed and said she had no idea. Interestingly enough – Caron and I looked through their photo books of cakes they have done and they are not above doing character cakes. Kind of an interesting juxtaposition, don’t you think? One more beef here – the cookie I bought – a little purse – had these pearls on them which we discovered to be inedible. Why would you put something inedible on a cookie?? Why?Stop #8 Southport Grocery 3552 N. Southport, Chicago (773) 665-0100 http://www.southportgrocery.com/
This is not really a grocery, but a conglomeration of trendy table service restaurant, pre-made take-home meals and a few packaged grocery items. They were identified by Chicago Magazine as having the best tasting cupcake in town – out of a dozen or more that they samples. I bought one chocolate and one vanilla (both with vanilla buttercream) and we moved on.
Stop #9 Sweet Occasions 5306 North Clark Chicago 773.275.5190 http://www.sweetoccasionsandmore.com/
Sweet Occasions had chocolate and vanilla cupcakes….and this awesome looking chocolate cake with peanutbutter buttercream frosting. The thing was 5” high if it was an inch. So of course we took all three!
Onward to the tasting. We laid everything out at Cynthia's house and cut the cupcakes into 4 bites. Then we made plates of everything (it took 2 per person to hold all of this) and got to work. Here are some conclusions:
Pricing
The range for cupcakes was $1.75-$3.00 with $2.00 being the most common. Cupcakes, which was the only all-cupcake bakery charged $3.00, which seems a little steep for what you get. On the other hand, Alliance Bakery charged $1.75 and had the largest cupcakes we found. I decided that while Columbus is not familiar with cupcake pricing, so $2.50 might seem expensive, the cupcakes I make are larger than normal, individually wrapped and tied, and are also filled. (None of the cupcakes we tried were filled…just frosted).
Packaging
I wish Vanille Patisserie did cupcakes – because I would love to see how they package them. Their packaging is awesome. They definitely get the big thumbs up. The others were just thrown into a bakery box or plastic clamshell. This is another area where I can differentiate myself.
Overall Taste
The four of us decided that Southport Grocery’s vanilla cupcake with vanilla chocolate buttercream was the best tasting of all that we tried. I would say the Champagne buttercream cupcake from Cupcake was #2.
Frosting
We noticed that some bakeries are still using Crisco-based frosting, which none of us cared for. It gives a gritty feel when chewing. We also noticed that some of the buttercream frosting was a bit too buttery. Note to self: Make sure to balance the butter flavor with other ingredients. Another favorite was the peanut butter buttercream. I think I’ll take a stab at that….and the Champagne buttercream too.
Best of the non-cupcake desserts
Our favorite was the profiterole tart from Vanille Patisserie. Aside from bein
g a work of art, it was delicious. A close second was the apple cake with caramel topping from Sweet Mandy B’s. What’s not to love about caramel apple? My take-away here is that I need to start developing some individual desserts focused on apple. (I love apple-based desserts anyway,)So there you have it. I suppose this post isn’t so interesting….unless you plan to go to Chicago sometime soon…or of course you live there. At any rate I do have some new ideas for my business….and a couple extra lbs and frostbite to show for it. Thanks so much to my homies who made this possible!!
Friday, February 17, 2006
I'm such a tease!!
Watch this space, because early next week I will report on some interesting market research I am doing in Chicago this weekend. I'm taking the digi-cam so you guys can see what yummy treats are being concocted in the windy city these days. Prepare to drool.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Is this still on?
Well kids, I’ve really let you down this week, haven’t I? I guess that’s the price I pay for having some actual business! I had an order for a cheesecake (New York style) for Valentines day. Cheesecakes are great because they are relatively easy to make. It’s the decorating that takes a while. I decorated this one on Monday night while my niece Amanda was here visiting. She and I talked while I piped whipped cream and made white chocolate hearts. I strategically placed a strawberry on top of every whipped cream spiral. She then had the dubious honor of witnessing the final decorating fete – where I attempted to insert a delicate white chocolate heart into the top of each of the strawberries. After some salty language and a few failed attempts, I mastered the technique, to rousing applause (which was completely in my mind).
The gentleman at work who ordered it reported in that his wife and everyone in his family loved it. Success!
Last night I was busy making a cake for a baby shower we held at work today. I didn’t take a photo of it because I’m not promoting the fact that I sometimes break down and do something ‘theme-like’. More on that in a minute. This cake was constructed of golden butter cake and strawberry mousse filling with fresh strawberries ,and was crowned with white chocolate buttercream frosting. (I’ll confess that I’m not a big white chocolate fan, but it’s not too bad when you mix it with cream cheese and butter! Ha!)
The frosting was a bit ivory in color so I used that as my base color. I tinted (cringe) some frosting to pink and blue and used that to write the inscriptions. We have 3 babies coming into the lives of folks in our department – one woman is having a girl and one of the guys’ wives is having twins – boy and girl. So I used tinted icing sparingly – just enough to get the message across that this is a baby shower cake. I really do need to work on how I might satisfy that request should I receive one again. I guess I should just tell people that I’m very minimalist when it comes to decorations. Quel dilemma.
So that’s it for now. Well – that’s not it, completely. I’m still working behind the scenes to get the administrative side of the business going, but that kind of stuff is boring. (As if this stuff I’ve just typed isn’t boring!) One exciting thing – I got word from the state of Ohio that I have dibs on the business name “Buttercream” for the next 10 years! Hah!
The gentleman at work who ordered it reported in that his wife and everyone in his family loved it. Success!
Last night I was busy making a cake for a baby shower we held at work today. I didn’t take a photo of it because I’m not promoting the fact that I sometimes break down and do something ‘theme-like’. More on that in a minute. This cake was constructed of golden butter cake and strawberry mousse filling with fresh strawberries ,and was crowned with white chocolate buttercream frosting. (I’ll confess that I’m not a big white chocolate fan, but it’s not too bad when you mix it with cream cheese and butter! Ha!)
The frosting was a bit ivory in color so I used that as my base color. I tinted (cringe) some frosting to pink and blue and used that to write the inscriptions. We have 3 babies coming into the lives of folks in our department – one woman is having a girl and one of the guys’ wives is having twins – boy and girl. So I used tinted icing sparingly – just enough to get the message across that this is a baby shower cake. I really do need to work on how I might satisfy that request should I receive one again. I guess I should just tell people that I’m very minimalist when it comes to decorations. Quel dilemma.
So that’s it for now. Well – that’s not it, completely. I’m still working behind the scenes to get the administrative side of the business going, but that kind of stuff is boring. (As if this stuff I’ve just typed isn’t boring!) One exciting thing – I got word from the state of Ohio that I have dibs on the business name “Buttercream” for the next 10 years! Hah!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Whew!
FYI - long post ahead. Grab yourself a cup of coffee first. It's worth it!
I’ve been absent from this blog for the past week for two very good reasons….
1) I baked 7 desserts for a party I had last night.
2) It took most of my free time to do so.
But I’m glad I did it for three very good reasons……
1) I now have experience planning for a heavy order volume,
2) I got a chance to take some K-I-L-L-E-R pictures for you, and for my website. (Can anyone out there believe that I actually took these pictures?? They look amazing if I do say so myself. Three cheers to Shawn at work, who taught me everything I know!)
3) I broadened my marketing base by 20 people (I know, not much but it’s a start. I envision it being like the old Wella Balsam shampoo commercials – You tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on….)
4) I have already received 2 orders based on this event!
To set the scene, my purpose was to invite the neighbor ladies over to taste a variety of desserts. There aren’t too many people, especially neighbors, who know I am doing this so I thought it would be a good way to introduce my business, allow me to practice, and get some good social time with the women who live around me.
So….I spent many hours over the past week baking. I even took yesterday off and spent all day in the kitchen. Here’s an overview of the menu:
Tiramisu Temptation
White cake flavored with Kaluah, filled with tiramisu cream and fresh raspberries, topped with Kaluah buttercream and chocolate shavings.
Lemon Crème Fantasy
Light lemon cake layers, lemon curd filling and lemon mascarpone mousse frosting. This cake is light, not too sweet, and has just the right balance of lemon flavor.
Inside-out German Chocolate Cake
Moist, fudgy chocolate cake with sweet, creamy coconut-pecan filling topped with smooth, dark chocolate ganache. Beautifully topped with a pile of chocolate leaves. Everyone asks how I make the leaves. Ancient Chinese Secret.
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
Ooh and Ahh-inspiring. Comes with a surprise inside - another raspberry!
Chocolate-Peanut butter Cheesecake
A crowd favorite. Filled with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup!
Devilsfood Cupcakes with Vanilla buttercream and chocolate ganache
This is the unique packaging idea I've been working on....so Shhhhhhh! The key is that you get a bigger cupcake when you bake them the way I devised - which means more to eat and more to hold wonderful fillings. They're individually wrapped with vellum and hand-tied with ribbon.
Mini Double-chocolate Cupcakes
Just a little bite-sized something.
To legitimize myself a bit I made a bunch of marketing materials – a list of ingredients, menus for people to take, and surveys. I received 14 survey responses, but I know that more than 14 women came…..more like 20. I'll have to spend some time tallying the votes and will, of course, share with you.
I learned a few things through the course of this event:
- There's tweaking to be done on some of the recipes.
- I should probably '86' the Lemon Creme Fantasy cake since it got low ratings across the board.
- Working ahead is key. Spreading the work out across several days makes it far less daunting than baking for 2 straight days.
- When making several desserts, compiling an overall ingredient list and checking against 'stock' is VERY important. I thought I had enough eggs and heavy cream on hand, but fell short on both of those items.
- I am married to a dish-washing, house-cleaning, grocery store-running saint! Dave proves over and over again that he is my biggest fan – and I cannot thank him enough for that. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a husband like mine. (Hi, Sweetie!)
- My feet hurt after standing on them for 12 hours in the kitchen. Maybe I should invest in some chef’s clogs.
- Flat Key Lime cheesecake still tastes good – it just looks pathetic. I always have trouble knowing how long to bake mini cheesecakes. Typically I use cheesecake recipes that call for a regular 9” pan – but when you make mini cheesecakes out of it you can’t bake them as long as you bake a 9” version. So sometimes I pull the minis out of the oven too soon – as was the case here – and they deflate. Dave and the kids still ate them though.
- Key Limes are a bitch to juice. Try juicing a Brussels Sprout, because that’s about the same size.
- People do not RSVP anymore. Why is that?
- If you advertise free sugar and chocolate to a bunch of women, most of them will come - even the size 2 soccer moms.
- The ladies of my neighborhood need to loosen up a bit. I had 3 bottles of champagne chilled (because what goes better with dessert than champagne?) and only one was opened. And actually, I think I drank most of it!
- Putting yourself ‘out there’ for public scrutiny can be very stressful. I felt very vulnerable opening up something I love (something I put great care, thought, time, money and heart into) to direct feedback/criticism. All in all I think the risk was worth it.
Thanks for hanging with me through this long post. Now, aren't you jonesing for some chocolate??
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Up to my elbows in butter… and batter
I’m getting ready for the tasting that I’m having for my neighbor ladies next week - yesterday I made 2 types of cake layers. It sure makes a mess in the kitchen. I figure there must be a better way to ‘work clean’ as they say in the food industry. I really have to work on that.
Anyhoo – my menu for the tasting goes like this:
Inside-out German Chocolate Cake
Moist, fudgy chocolate cake with sweet, creamy coconut-pecan filling topped with smooth, dark chocolate ganache.Beautifully topped with a pile of chocolate leaves. A new twist on an old favorite.
Tiramisu Temptation
White cake flavored with Kaluah, filled with tiramisu cream and fresh raspberries, topped with Kaluah buttercream and chocolate shavings.
Lemon Crème Fantasy
Light lemon cake layers, lemon curd filling and lemon mascarpone mousse frosting. This cake is light, not too sweet, and has just the right balance of lemon flavor.
Mini Cheesecakes
White Chocolate Raspberry
Key Lime
There will also be a take-home cupcake for each guest, but I haven’t figured out what flavor I want to make it yet. I want to decorate them for Valentine’s Day so I’m thinking I’ll need a vanilla buttercream. Just not sure what flavor combination I want to use for the cupcake and filling yet. Any thoughts?
I’ve got a schedule of tasks that run all weekend long – so I’m sure Dave and the girls will love the perpetual mess. It’s always tough to bake around the girls because a) they want to sample, and b) they want to watch. For some reason I always get nervous when people watch me cook - especially when I’m decorating a cake.
I plan to take the day off on Tuesday to prep for the event. There should be some last-minute decorating, house cleaning and set-up work to perform. Also I want to spend some un-rushed time photographing these cakes. My website is supposed to be up by the weekend so I’ll need to have some photos pretty quickly. Good photos are critical IMHO so I don’t mind taking the time to do it right.
Speaking of cooking… check this out. You can cook an egg with your cellphone!
Anyhoo – my menu for the tasting goes like this:
Inside-out German Chocolate Cake
Moist, fudgy chocolate cake with sweet, creamy coconut-pecan filling topped with smooth, dark chocolate ganache.Beautifully topped with a pile of chocolate leaves. A new twist on an old favorite.
Tiramisu Temptation
White cake flavored with Kaluah, filled with tiramisu cream and fresh raspberries, topped with Kaluah buttercream and chocolate shavings.
Lemon Crème Fantasy
Light lemon cake layers, lemon curd filling and lemon mascarpone mousse frosting. This cake is light, not too sweet, and has just the right balance of lemon flavor.
Mini Cheesecakes
White Chocolate Raspberry
Key Lime
There will also be a take-home cupcake for each guest, but I haven’t figured out what flavor I want to make it yet. I want to decorate them for Valentine’s Day so I’m thinking I’ll need a vanilla buttercream. Just not sure what flavor combination I want to use for the cupcake and filling yet. Any thoughts?
I’ve got a schedule of tasks that run all weekend long – so I’m sure Dave and the girls will love the perpetual mess. It’s always tough to bake around the girls because a) they want to sample, and b) they want to watch. For some reason I always get nervous when people watch me cook - especially when I’m decorating a cake.
I plan to take the day off on Tuesday to prep for the event. There should be some last-minute decorating, house cleaning and set-up work to perform. Also I want to spend some un-rushed time photographing these cakes. My website is supposed to be up by the weekend so I’ll need to have some photos pretty quickly. Good photos are critical IMHO so I don’t mind taking the time to do it right.
Speaking of cooking… check this out. You can cook an egg with your cellphone!
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
I'm Bonafied!
Tonight I graduated from Wilton I Cake Decorating Class. What an accomplishment! Here's my final cake. I didn't know what inscription to use, so Dave came up with an appropriate one. We shall celebrate Punxsuatawney Phil (yes, I looked it up) with a Devilsfood, Crisco and Sugar confection. I'm quite proud of the roses. They turned out well - and were the most fun to make. In fact, the beginning stages sent a bit of a twitter throughout the class.
You see, to start out a rose you need to pipe a 1-inch high tube-shaped pile of frosting on top of a piece of waxed paper (visualize a chocolate kiss, but skinnier). Then, you take a ribbon-type tip and pipe a little shawl around the very top of the tube. This is intended to form the internal bud of the rose. However, what you end up with looks just like a circumsized penis!! You don't know HOW much I wished I had my camera so that you, my blog-reading pretties, could see this!!
You can imagine the giggles when, in the spirit of practice we each piped ten tube-shaped piles of frosting, and then enrobed them in their little 'shawls'. It looked like we each had a garden of little 1" tall penis seedlings sprouting up around us. Of course, this is a very conservative town, so I chuckled internally until I heard several others snickering about theirs....especially one lady who was working on pale pink flowers.
The giggling was short-lived, however when we moved on to the next step of piping the rest of the leaves on the roses. Then it was back to work.
So there you have it. I'm grad-je-ated. Not sure if I'll take the next class in the series. It's a LOT of prep work, and there's still that aversion/repulsion with the Crisco frosting to consider.
Sorry I've been neglecting you again. Actually, it's for good business-related reasons. I have been focusing on a couple of things lately - mainly planning a Tasting event for the neighborhood ladies. A week from tonight the gals will come over and sample my wares. I'm making 3-4 cakes and 2 types of individual cheesecakes. I'm also making cupcakes for each lady to take home.
Another time-sucker is that I have come up with a cool new way to make and package cupcakes, which I will share with you soon. I'm just nervous about letting the cat out of the bag, lest Ms. Martha Whatshername steal my idea. I want it to be my 'good thing' for a while. Cupcakes are really big right now, so I want to try to capture some business in that space.
Along with all that, I have applied to the state for dibs on the business name "Buttercream" by paying my $50 to secure it for 10 years. Now I'm just waiting for them to tell me it's mine. (Apologies to you who have expressed the opinion that 'Buttercream Dreams' is a better name than just 'Buttercream'. When you get your own cake baking business you can name it that! Neener Neener. Seriously, I thought my blog title was pretty clever - Buttercream Dreams because this blog is about my quest to realize my dream of owning a business called Buttercream. Get it??)
So you see I have been moving right along....just not always bringing you along for the ride like I should. Mea culpa.
Friday, January 27, 2006
We're Not Special-Worthy
Dave and I dine out frequently – probably 1-3 times a week – and always at different restaurants. Sometimes we dine at restaurants that feature daily Specials. Daily Specials are interesting to me because (hopefully) either they feature something the chef is experimenting with, a departure from the ordinary – or because they feature some especially fresh and/or exotic ingredient that isn’t available on a consistent basis. (Anthony Bourdain would tell you that daily Specials are created to ‘move’ the food that is otherwise destined for the trashcan. Fortunately, I have the ability to suppress this bit of insider info when I dine out.)
Regardless of their origin, we hardly ever hear about these illusive and mysterious Specials – which makes me want them that much more. You see, we’re consistently victims of Special discrimination. Here’s the way it usually goes: We’re seated, menus are dealt, preliminary courtesies are exchanged with the waiter/waitress. This is followed by drink orders being taken, drinks delivered, the waiter takes our order, first course is delivered yada yada – typical restaurant meal progression. At some point while we're enjoying our meal people are seated at another table nearby. Then, as they work through their pre-meal progression, we overhear their waiter – usually the same one who is waiting on us – rattle off a list of Tonight's Specials! Dave and I usually look wide-eyed at each other at this point. What!? Why were we not offered a list of Specials? Are we not Special-worthy?
Really – this happens about 75% of the time, and we cannot figure out why. It’s not as if we are so resolute in our menu choices so as to appear as though we do not need additional suggestions. We're flexible! We can be swayed by Specials. It’s not as though we’re not congenial with our wait staff – because we do ask questions, leave ourselves open to dialog, etc. So we’re always amazed when we overhear what we could have eaten offered to the table next to us. Most of the time, there’s something on the Specials list one of us would have ordered. It's the darndest thing.
So I’ve decided on a two-pronged approach to get to the bottom of this discrimination. First, I plan to do a little debrief the next time this happens. The next time we overhear someone else being told about Specials that we were not offered I will ask our waiter to explain why we were not given the same courtesy. I want to understand their profiling criteria because if we exude some unapproachable attitude I want to know about it! I feel we are extremely Special-worthy.
As an alternate approach, maybe I should just start asking if there are any Specials as a matter of course. This would nip any discriminatory practice in the bud. Seriously – this must be stopped. Next thing you know, they’ll start profiling the offering of dessert based on weight – which would make me extremely cranky - since I look as though I should pass on that molten lava chocolate cake. We must stop the madness.
Then again, if what Anthony Bourdain says is true, maybe I’m better off not knowing about the Specials.
Regardless of their origin, we hardly ever hear about these illusive and mysterious Specials – which makes me want them that much more. You see, we’re consistently victims of Special discrimination. Here’s the way it usually goes: We’re seated, menus are dealt, preliminary courtesies are exchanged with the waiter/waitress. This is followed by drink orders being taken, drinks delivered, the waiter takes our order, first course is delivered yada yada – typical restaurant meal progression. At some point while we're enjoying our meal people are seated at another table nearby. Then, as they work through their pre-meal progression, we overhear their waiter – usually the same one who is waiting on us – rattle off a list of Tonight's Specials! Dave and I usually look wide-eyed at each other at this point. What!? Why were we not offered a list of Specials? Are we not Special-worthy?
Really – this happens about 75% of the time, and we cannot figure out why. It’s not as if we are so resolute in our menu choices so as to appear as though we do not need additional suggestions. We're flexible! We can be swayed by Specials. It’s not as though we’re not congenial with our wait staff – because we do ask questions, leave ourselves open to dialog, etc. So we’re always amazed when we overhear what we could have eaten offered to the table next to us. Most of the time, there’s something on the Specials list one of us would have ordered. It's the darndest thing.
So I’ve decided on a two-pronged approach to get to the bottom of this discrimination. First, I plan to do a little debrief the next time this happens. The next time we overhear someone else being told about Specials that we were not offered I will ask our waiter to explain why we were not given the same courtesy. I want to understand their profiling criteria because if we exude some unapproachable attitude I want to know about it! I feel we are extremely Special-worthy.
As an alternate approach, maybe I should just start asking if there are any Specials as a matter of course. This would nip any discriminatory practice in the bud. Seriously – this must be stopped. Next thing you know, they’ll start profiling the offering of dessert based on weight – which would make me extremely cranky - since I look as though I should pass on that molten lava chocolate cake. We must stop the madness.
Then again, if what Anthony Bourdain says is true, maybe I’m better off not knowing about the Specials.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
What I Should Have Said
This weekend my sister turned 50 years young. Her kids planned a party, and we all gathered to celebrate Wendy. When the time came to toast the guest of honor I mumbled a few dumb stories, but didn’t say exactly what I feel about my sister. So, since this is my blog and I get to pick the subject matter – neener neener - here’s what I should have said to that crowd of 40 or so who gathered:
My sister is an amazing woman. Granted, younger kids usually look up to their older siblings, but in this case my adoration is well-deserved. My sister has faced more than her share of adversity in her short 50 years. More than most face in a lifetime. Through marital problems, financial strife, the serious health issues of a spouse and major structural issues with her house she has always maintained a pretty even balance. There have been times when this woman just could not catch a break. Yet she always seemed to smile through the trouble. Sometimes I don’t know where she gets her strength. I admire her so much for that.
She is a nurturer like no other. Everyone around her, including co-workers (Hello, Steris!) feels taken under her wing. She gives so much to so many – including her children who are better for all that she has done for them. They are all terrific young adults with bright futures ahead. I just hope they appreciate all of the sacrifices she has made (and continues to make!) for them.
My sister is also highly intelligent, as I’ve mentioned here before. In fact, I love to brag about her chemistry major and biology and physics minors – and the fact that she has a job where the word ‘micro-organism’ is used on a daily basis. She was a wiz in school – graduating in the top 5 people in her class in high school. I admire this about her, since it never came easy to me. She has a bit of our grandfather’s engineering genious in her, too, when it comes to household repairs. Anything that requires tinkering or adjusting seems to intrigue her. She and her husband have also tackled some major home improvement projects and they’ve had great success.
Wendy has an amazing gift of gab and a great sense of humor. Sometimes it takes her a minute, but she’s quick with a laugh and a smile. She’s always ready with a story or an anecdote – told with a healthy dose of her bubbling personality and many hand gestures.
My sister is one of my biggest fans. She’s always been very supportive of everything I’ve done, for which I’m most appreciative. She is quick to point out my strengths when I can only see my weaknesses. She listens to my problems, encourages me to follow my dreams, and even tolerates my Martha Stewart-like tendencies. She is the best at giving big-sisterly advice. Most importantly, she has welcomed Dave, Sarah and Megan into the family with open arms – for which I will be eternally grateful. (Now, if we could only get her to stop talking about how tall Dave is…..!)
Wendy and I are very different – anyone who knows us will agree – yet we share a deep love and respect for each other and for our parents and brother. We are sisters first, but we are friends foremost.
Happy 50th Birthday Big Seeeeester! You’re not old!
I Love You!
p.s. Oh yeah, I made the cake. I call it Mocha Espresso Madness.
(Chocolate cake filled with chocolate espresso mousse and chocolate ganache, frosted with Chocolate Buttercream)
Friday, January 20, 2006
Behind the Scenes at Buttercream
I haven’t blogged in several days but that does not mean that I am not workin’ it behind the scenes. Here’s an update on everything going on in the cake biz:
That Darned Class So in our last episode I explained the evil Wilton ways, and vowed to revolt against mediocre ingredients. Well, this weekend I reluctantly but dutifully submitted and made said boxed cake mix and frosted it with said evil Crisco frosting – which we were supposed to color using, of course, Wilton icing coloring. (After doing so, I had bits of purple and green Crisco on almost every surface in my kitchen.) Then I packed it up, along with the 2 boxes of equipment we were told to bring, and schlepped it off (in the pouring rain, no less) to the next session. We proceeded to spend 7/8 of the class practicing decorating strokes with our piping bags on a board using various tips. We then spent 1/8 of the class decorating our cakes. Of course we did not finish before we were kicked out by the Joann folks (Store closes in 5 minutes). So now I have a semi-decorated cake, for which I have lost all enthusiasm. Here it is:
That Darned Class So in our last episode I explained the evil Wilton ways, and vowed to revolt against mediocre ingredients. Well, this weekend I reluctantly but dutifully submitted and made said boxed cake mix and frosted it with said evil Crisco frosting – which we were supposed to color using, of course, Wilton icing coloring. (After doing so, I had bits of purple and green Crisco on almost every surface in my kitchen.) Then I packed it up, along with the 2 boxes of equipment we were told to bring, and schlepped it off (in the pouring rain, no less) to the next session. We proceeded to spend 7/8 of the class practicing decorating strokes with our piping bags on a board using various tips. We then spent 1/8 of the class decorating our cakes. Of course we did not finish before we were kicked out by the Joann folks (Store closes in 5 minutes). So now I have a semi-decorated cake, for which I have lost all enthusiasm. Here it is:
Now notice that the base frosting is not smooth. That's because I used the old paper towel trick our instructor told us about. You take a paper towel and put it on top of the iced cake and smooth it with your hand to make the frosting smooth out. What she failed to mention is that it you shouldn't use paper towels with any sort of pattern. *sigh*
Cyber-Fabulous Earlier this week I met with a guy at work who does website design work on the side. I showed him baking sites that appeal to me visually and gave him a storyboard (a technical term…ahem) with my ideas and sent him off to design me a website. I am aquiver with anticipation. After all, when you’re ‘on the web’ you’re somebody….. right?
Work with me Baby I have another co-worker who takes amazing photographs…so I enlisted his tutelage regarding my photography needs....because the cakes I feature on my website need to look fabulous, right? That's what will make people want to pay me money to have one. So he actually took the time to come up with a hand-out of tips for me, played with my camera to help me figure out how best to use it, and offered continuing consultation services!! Weeeeeeee! I’ll be baking for that man and his family…let me tellya! Whatever he wants. Now I just need to practice my photog skills and get a tripod. (Although Dave would say I already have one. Hee hee.)
Chocolate!! When you bake professionally you have to have supplies. You can’t run to the grocery store every time someone needs a cake. It just isn’t cost-effective. So, I’ve been doing a little research on suppliers and decided to order bulk chocolate over the internet. Alas, yesterday 50 lbs of Callebaut chocolate were delivered to my doorstep!! I ordered 3 kinds – bittersweet, unsweetened and white chocolate. I figured I saved about about 28% over supermarket cost by ordering in bulk....which is one benefit. The other major bene being that I now have the satisfaction of knowing that my PMS cravings can be sated with a quick jog to the basement!! (I have a mental image of Dave discovering a PMS-ravaged Lindi sitting on the floor in the dark in the basement with a 22 lb bag of chocolate spilled all over, a mouthful of chocolate pellets and melted chocolate goodness smeared all over my guilty face.)
So you see, I’ve been terribly busy trying to bring more structure and formality to this thing I call my little business. Believe me, I’ve felt guilty every night about not blogging more frequently. I promise to be better next week.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Just Say No to Clowns
As one embarks on a new business idea it’s important for that individual to assess their strengths and weaknesses in order to build on the weaknesses, right? So that’s what I decided to do with regard to cake/pastry decorating. I’m self-taught and it shows. So I searched and searched for some sort of ‘legitimate’ pastry class (remember, I am a food snob so a legitimate class would be offered by the French Pastry Institute or the Culinary Institute of America) but of course this is Columbus, Ohio so I am left with very few choices – namely the Wilton cake decorating classes offered at Joann Fabrics and Michaels Craft Stores. *sigh*
Now Wilton is a fine company that has been teaching amateur home bakers how to decorate their kids’ birthday cakes for decades. They even get pretty advanced in their wedding cake courses. But let us all remember why Lindi is here. To differentiate her business from the character cake (Sponge Bob is a popular cake character these days) and the wedding cake markets. We’re going for upscale gourmet fare here, right? Right!
So you can imagine my internal strife last night as I endured the week 1 demonstration on how to make the “Wilton Recipe” frosting. First you take a cup of Crisco (cringe), 2 cups of Powdered Sugar (ok, breathe), 1 tsp of Wilton Vanilla flavoring (wince), ½ tsp of Wilton Butter Flavoring (the bile begins to rise)…you get the picture.
My visceral reaction is due to the fact that this one frosting recipe goes against the core of my cake baking being. I use the highest quality ingredients in my cakes. No shortening to be found. No imitation this, artificial that. It is painfully obvious that this course (and the Wilton method) is all about how a cake looks – not how it tastes. (Well, it’s also about selling us $150 worth of Wilton product too.) So I found myself having an internal dialog that sounded something like this:
“Ok you just need to play along with this part of it so that you can learn the decorating skills. Forget about what’s in the cake for once – you’re focusing on learning the principles of decorating here.”
I took a lot of deep breaths.
So the assignments over the course of the class will be to bake and base-frost a cake per week at home, and bring them in to class to decorate. I will most certainly photograph my progress for your enjoyment. The decorating part should be fun if I can put aside my snobbishness about the ingredients.
I will have another dilemma when it comes to the finished cakes. They will not live up to my quality standards taste-wise – so what should I do with them? I will be using boxed mixes (sacrilege!) since I don’t want to waste my precious ingredients on a cake that will be topped with shortening-based frosting. I suppose I can bring them to work and caveat their existence with a disclaimer about it being a decorating exercise. After all….some of these people are my clients, and all of them have tasted lots of my cakes. I have a reputation to uphold.
Ok, enough snootiness. Well….maybe not.
Oh yeah, the clowns. So I was looking over the materials list and under week 4 it says that we need to purchase “2 Small Derby clown heads”. I got a good laugh out of that since I took a vow early on in life that I would never feature a clown in any of my cooking or baking or decorating, or clothing. Basically I just denounced clowns in general. Anyway the assignment for week 4 is to make this cake. Check out the photo. Scary, huh? Maybe I'll be sick. Oh wait! I have book club that night!!! Yay!!
Now Wilton is a fine company that has been teaching amateur home bakers how to decorate their kids’ birthday cakes for decades. They even get pretty advanced in their wedding cake courses. But let us all remember why Lindi is here. To differentiate her business from the character cake (Sponge Bob is a popular cake character these days) and the wedding cake markets. We’re going for upscale gourmet fare here, right? Right!
So you can imagine my internal strife last night as I endured the week 1 demonstration on how to make the “Wilton Recipe” frosting. First you take a cup of Crisco (cringe), 2 cups of Powdered Sugar (ok, breathe), 1 tsp of Wilton Vanilla flavoring (wince), ½ tsp of Wilton Butter Flavoring (the bile begins to rise)…you get the picture.
My visceral reaction is due to the fact that this one frosting recipe goes against the core of my cake baking being. I use the highest quality ingredients in my cakes. No shortening to be found. No imitation this, artificial that. It is painfully obvious that this course (and the Wilton method) is all about how a cake looks – not how it tastes. (Well, it’s also about selling us $150 worth of Wilton product too.) So I found myself having an internal dialog that sounded something like this:
“Ok you just need to play along with this part of it so that you can learn the decorating skills. Forget about what’s in the cake for once – you’re focusing on learning the principles of decorating here.”
I took a lot of deep breaths.
So the assignments over the course of the class will be to bake and base-frost a cake per week at home, and bring them in to class to decorate. I will most certainly photograph my progress for your enjoyment. The decorating part should be fun if I can put aside my snobbishness about the ingredients.
I will have another dilemma when it comes to the finished cakes. They will not live up to my quality standards taste-wise – so what should I do with them? I will be using boxed mixes (sacrilege!) since I don’t want to waste my precious ingredients on a cake that will be topped with shortening-based frosting. I suppose I can bring them to work and caveat their existence with a disclaimer about it being a decorating exercise. After all….some of these people are my clients, and all of them have tasted lots of my cakes. I have a reputation to uphold.
Ok, enough snootiness. Well….maybe not.
Oh yeah, the clowns. So I was looking over the materials list and under week 4 it says that we need to purchase “2 Small Derby clown heads”. I got a good laugh out of that since I took a vow early on in life that I would never feature a clown in any of my cooking or baking or decorating, or clothing. Basically I just denounced clowns in general. Anyway the assignment for week 4 is to make this cake. Check out the photo. Scary, huh? Maybe I'll be sick. Oh wait! I have book club that night!!! Yay!!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Very anticlimactic
I was crestfallen when I opened the envelope from the OH Department of Agriculture yesterday and pulled from it this piece of copy paper. I know a gilt edged document on certificate bond is a little much to ask for from a government agency but couldn’t they have at least used a template that had a little scrollwork around the edges?
Really folks, this is hardly frameworthy. Couldn't someone have spent 2 minutes on www.microsoft.com and downloaded a certificate template? Besides…I should get something a little nicer for my $10.
Nevertheless, I am officially a licensed home bakery. So I got that going for me….which is nice.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Bowl Game Food
Yesterday we had friends over to watch the Fiesta Bowl featuring the local boys from OSU against the Golden Domers of Notre Dame. (This event is a.k.a. the closest OSU fans will come to having a religious experience – or so you would think, with all of the carrying on they do for weeks before and after. Can you tell I’m ‘not from around here’?)
Of course we needed good hearty fare to sustain us through the game, so I fixed a nice Cheddar Corn Chowder and made these really yummy chicken sandwiches. Both were a hit, although I might add bacon to the sandwiches next time. I always love avocado and bacon together. A couple of suggestions: Make sure the chicken is still a little warm when you toss with the aioli so the chicken can absorb more of the garlic and tarragon flavors. Get it right into the fridge afterwards until you’re ready to make the sandwiches and serve.
Chicken, Watercress and Avocado Sandwiches with Tarragon Garlic Aioli
The aioli is quickly made by mixing garlic and tarragon into purchased mayonnaise.
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
(I used dried and it was fine) - 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves; 1 minced, 1 halved
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
- 8 center slices country white bread (each about 5x3 inches), toasted
- 1 bunch watercress, stems trimmed
(I used regular red leaf lettuce since the grocery store did not have watercress) - 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, each half thinly sliced but intact (By ‘intact’ they mean that you slice each half into strips lengthwise, but not all the way through. You leave all slices attached at the top of the avocado and fan the slices out across the sandwich. Make sense?)
Place chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper. Using rolling pin, flatten chicken to even 1/2-inch thickness; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Cool chicken, then tear or slice into narrow 3-inch strips. Place chicken in bowl. Mix in 3/4 cup aioli; season with salt and pepper (Reserve remaining aioli for spreading on bread slices.).
Rub 1 side of each toast slice with cut side of halved garlic. Arrange 4 toasts garlic side up. Top each with 1/4 of watercress, 1 fanned-out avocado half, and 1/4 of chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; top with remaining toasts, garlic side down. Makes 4 servings.
Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Bloggy New Year!
I was discussing this blog thingy with my friend Caron who complimented me on it (thank you!) and said she thinks it could ‘go somewhere’. Not sure where that might be (the image of a cyberspace trashcan comes to mind) but I told her if she figures out a way for me to make money off of it, to let me know. She, and others have commented that when I have posted recipes people have actually tried them. Apparently the Rosemary Shortbread cookies were a big hit at another friend Maria’s holiday party!
So, that leads me to believe that I need to feature more recipes and less off-topic ramblings. This will be added to my list of goals in 2006 under the heading of “make food blog more related to food”. I know you guys are dying read about moi, but really – I must keep my initial purpose in mind – which was to document my business start-up foibles and talk about food and cooking.
Without further ado, right off the bat in 2006 here’s a recipe for you. I know this would have been more relevant, oh say 24-48 hours ago when you all were trying to figure out what kind of appetizers to make for that NYE party, but nonetheless….tuck this away in your recipe files for future reference.
It is a simple appetizer, however there is one component that is time-consuming. Do not let that deter you, however, because the finished product is yummy and worth the extra 10 minutes you will spend. The extra time comes in when you start peeling apart these Grands biscuit layers. They are infinitely easier to peel apart when cooked, however you need the raw dough for this recipe. It’s important that the dough be thin because they need to cook quickly. That’s why you peel them.
Sarah and I made these today and were able to get as many as 5 layers from each biscuit but that takes practice. I decided that patience should be listed on the recipe below as a key ingredient for success. I was wondering what these would be like if I used Wonton skins instead of biscuit dough. Maybe next time I will try that to see if it’s worth the trade-off. If any of you decide to try this with wonton skins let me know how they turn out.
Tomato Bacon Appetizers
8 slices bacon, cooked til crisp and crumbled
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
½ small onion, chopped
3 oz (3/4 cup) Swiss cheese, grated
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. Basil
1 can (10 oz) refrigerator biscuits (I use Grands flaky layers)
Mix all ingredients together except biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 3-4 layers and place in a mini muffin pan. Fill each cup with a spoonful of the mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown.
Enjoy!!
So, that leads me to believe that I need to feature more recipes and less off-topic ramblings. This will be added to my list of goals in 2006 under the heading of “make food blog more related to food”. I know you guys are dying read about moi, but really – I must keep my initial purpose in mind – which was to document my business start-up foibles and talk about food and cooking.
Without further ado, right off the bat in 2006 here’s a recipe for you. I know this would have been more relevant, oh say 24-48 hours ago when you all were trying to figure out what kind of appetizers to make for that NYE party, but nonetheless….tuck this away in your recipe files for future reference.
It is a simple appetizer, however there is one component that is time-consuming. Do not let that deter you, however, because the finished product is yummy and worth the extra 10 minutes you will spend. The extra time comes in when you start peeling apart these Grands biscuit layers. They are infinitely easier to peel apart when cooked, however you need the raw dough for this recipe. It’s important that the dough be thin because they need to cook quickly. That’s why you peel them.
Sarah and I made these today and were able to get as many as 5 layers from each biscuit but that takes practice. I decided that patience should be listed on the recipe below as a key ingredient for success. I was wondering what these would be like if I used Wonton skins instead of biscuit dough. Maybe next time I will try that to see if it’s worth the trade-off. If any of you decide to try this with wonton skins let me know how they turn out.
Tomato Bacon Appetizers8 slices bacon, cooked til crisp and crumbled
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
½ small onion, chopped
3 oz (3/4 cup) Swiss cheese, grated
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. Basil
1 can (10 oz) refrigerator biscuits (I use Grands flaky layers)
Mix all ingredients together except biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 3-4 layers and place in a mini muffin pan. Fill each cup with a spoonful of the mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown.
Enjoy!!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Auld Lang Syne
Since it is time to reflect I thought I’d share some reflection with you, my blog-reading pretties. Here’s my version of the Proust Questionnaire.
1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before? Started a business
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? No, I’m still not the size I am in my mind’s eye. Yes, I will likely attempt yet again to become the size I am in my mind’s eye.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my book club waged an all-out effort to expand families. Karen had a baby girl named Jessica, Cynthia adopted a baby girl named Eleanor. And soon Sue will pick up her new son Gabriel from Guatamala.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.
5. What countries did you visit? Regretfully, none other than the good old USA.
6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? A job that I enjoy.
7. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 29th. The day Katrina hit. I watched the whole thing unfold in utter amazement that such a human tragedy could befall the richest, most progressive country in the world.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Taking steps to make a dream into a reality.
9. What was your biggest failure?Trying to diet.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully, no – unless you count the strained wrist I got on the golf course.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Really cool patio furniture that allows us to relax outdoors.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sarah – making the National Honor Society was awesome!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Tom Cruise? Brangelina? George Bush? It’s hard to choose.
14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, bills, bills
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our trip to St. Augustine, Florida in May. We played a lot of golf and had a great time together.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005? 100 Years by Five for Fighting. It’s a tear-jerker.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same
b) thinner or fatter? Hmm….about the same!
c) richer or poorer? Ugh, poorer….thanks to gas prices (natural gas and gasoline)
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Traveling
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working
20. How will you be spending Christmas? In 2006? Hard to tell. But family – hear this: I call dibs on having Christmas at my house!!
21. Did you fall in love in 2005? I fall in love all over again pretty often with my wonderful husband.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Six Feet Under, Survivor, Under Fire (a reality show for chefs that ran on PBS)
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No
24. What was the best book you read? My Sister’s Keeper an awesome novel about medical ethics.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The iPod and iTunes!!
26. What did you want and get? A second refrigerator for the basement.
27. What did you want and not get? Furniture for my living room, dining room and bedroom
28. What was your favorite film of this year? So far, I think it’s Capote.
29. What did you do on your birthday? Hmmmm…what did we do on my birthday? I don’t really remember.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?Being debt-free
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Thanks to Stacy and Clinton I am trying to wear clothes that lengthen the torso and make you look thinner by defining the waist. I am also putting more emphasis on sexy shoes and good jewelry.
32. What kept you sane? My husband.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Gosh, I really try not to be dazzled by celebrities, but if I had to pick I would say Candice Olson from Divine Design on HGTV. She has the most amazing taste. Everything she does is sumptuous and elegant. I would think I’d died and gone to heaven if she ever came to do a room in my house. Too bad they only do houses in Canada on that show.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Anything George Bush has his hands in. In general, the oppressive positions taken by right-wing religious extremists.
35. Who did you miss? Mom and Dad, my family, everyone in Book Club.
36. Who was the best new person you met? Probably Angela, whom I met in my weekly figure drawing class. She is an awesome oil painter and a great lady.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005: I didn't learn this personally but read enough about it to know better: When blogging keep your negative thoughts about work to yourself.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.
Well, there you have it. My reminiscences. Take some time to answer these questions for yourself. It truly is cathartic to look back on the year and sum it up.
I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006. Drive safe and buckle up!
1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before? Started a business
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? No, I’m still not the size I am in my mind’s eye. Yes, I will likely attempt yet again to become the size I am in my mind’s eye.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my book club waged an all-out effort to expand families. Karen had a baby girl named Jessica, Cynthia adopted a baby girl named Eleanor. And soon Sue will pick up her new son Gabriel from Guatamala.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.
5. What countries did you visit? Regretfully, none other than the good old USA.
6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? A job that I enjoy.
7. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 29th. The day Katrina hit. I watched the whole thing unfold in utter amazement that such a human tragedy could befall the richest, most progressive country in the world.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Taking steps to make a dream into a reality.
9. What was your biggest failure?Trying to diet.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully, no – unless you count the strained wrist I got on the golf course.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Really cool patio furniture that allows us to relax outdoors.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sarah – making the National Honor Society was awesome!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Tom Cruise? Brangelina? George Bush? It’s hard to choose.
14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, bills, bills
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our trip to St. Augustine, Florida in May. We played a lot of golf and had a great time together.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005? 100 Years by Five for Fighting. It’s a tear-jerker.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same
b) thinner or fatter? Hmm….about the same!
c) richer or poorer? Ugh, poorer….thanks to gas prices (natural gas and gasoline)
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Traveling
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working
20. How will you be spending Christmas? In 2006? Hard to tell. But family – hear this: I call dibs on having Christmas at my house!!
21. Did you fall in love in 2005? I fall in love all over again pretty often with my wonderful husband.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Six Feet Under, Survivor, Under Fire (a reality show for chefs that ran on PBS)
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No
24. What was the best book you read? My Sister’s Keeper an awesome novel about medical ethics.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The iPod and iTunes!!
26. What did you want and get? A second refrigerator for the basement.
27. What did you want and not get? Furniture for my living room, dining room and bedroom
28. What was your favorite film of this year? So far, I think it’s Capote.
29. What did you do on your birthday? Hmmmm…what did we do on my birthday? I don’t really remember.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?Being debt-free
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Thanks to Stacy and Clinton I am trying to wear clothes that lengthen the torso and make you look thinner by defining the waist. I am also putting more emphasis on sexy shoes and good jewelry.
32. What kept you sane? My husband.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Gosh, I really try not to be dazzled by celebrities, but if I had to pick I would say Candice Olson from Divine Design on HGTV. She has the most amazing taste. Everything she does is sumptuous and elegant. I would think I’d died and gone to heaven if she ever came to do a room in my house. Too bad they only do houses in Canada on that show.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Anything George Bush has his hands in. In general, the oppressive positions taken by right-wing religious extremists.
35. Who did you miss? Mom and Dad, my family, everyone in Book Club.
36. Who was the best new person you met? Probably Angela, whom I met in my weekly figure drawing class. She is an awesome oil painter and a great lady.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005: I didn't learn this personally but read enough about it to know better: When blogging keep your negative thoughts about work to yourself.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.
Well, there you have it. My reminiscences. Take some time to answer these questions for yourself. It truly is cathartic to look back on the year and sum it up.
I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006. Drive safe and buckle up!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The pleasures of cooking
I received two cookbooks for Christmas, both of which I had requested. I don’t usually ask for cookbooks because I find the internet suits my recipe-seeking needs very well. Being the technology project manager that I am, the web-based search engine has bested the low-tech index at the back of the book – so I just don’t cook from books too much anymore. However, I still love to flip through cookbooks that have great pictures, so every now and then I add one to my collection.
The two I received this year were Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis and Barefoot Contessa Parties by Ina Garten. Both women have shows on the Food Network, and those shows are what made me want to have their books. The chefs themselves are different. Giada focuses on Italian food, with a lot of influence from her family favorites. Ina covers a pretty broad spectrum in terms of what she cooks, which stems from her catering business. Both seem to do a lot of entertaining, if you believe the scenarios on which their episodes are based. But I really think what attracted me to their food, and ultimately their cookbooks, is the style in which their shows are produced.
Here’s where I let you in on a dirty little secret of mine. I think the preparation of food can be a sensual experience. Yes, that’s right. It’s a feast for the senses that can evoke certain emotions….or at least it does in me. And what makes me gravitate toward these shows is that the sensuality of preparing food is played up in the way it is filmed, edited, staged…everything. In Giada’s case – how can you not play up the sensual experience of cooking with this woman. She’s a 30ish dead ringer for Sophia Lauren. She is hot – and they really play that up (nary a show goes by when we don’t get a generous helping of Giada’s cleavage). But that aside, it’s in the way her hands move with the food product, the sound of an egg cracking while there’s a tight shot on it. Then there’s the beautiful bowl it gets deposited into. (They always have such beautiful dishware on these shows.)
I marvel at the simple elegance of a perfectly manicured hand chopping beautiful red peppers with a gleaming silver knife. And it’s not done in the frenzied way most chefs chop, but in a gentle, measured cadence – almost lovingly! There’s the sizzle of pancetta as it’s tossed into a hot pan, the stirring of creamy mascarpone cheese. Every time this show is on I am sucked in to watching it. Even Dave was mesmerized by it recently – although I think that’s because he was fantasizing that Giada and the female friend who was helping her in the kitchen that day were having some sort of an off-camera tryst. Men!
Now contrast that show with Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa and it proves my point that it is the food preparation that brings the sensuality to the show. She is the polar opposite of Giada in terms of sexual appeal, however the way in which her cooking process is portrayed is very similar. The ingredients she uses, the techniques she employs and the ease and elegance with which she works makes you want to see more. Makes you want to cook what she is cooking. She also has beautiful dishes, pots, pans, trays, knives, etc. I am so jealous of their materials…and their kitchens!
I first started to feel this way a couple of years ago when Nigella Lawson had her short-lived cooking show. Now there was a sensual cooking experience. They actually included shots of Nigella licking her finger in a provocative way. At times you almost felt like you were watching the beginning of a soft-core porno movie. Ahh….I did enjoy that show. Too bad it was on so briefly.
I guess I could also somewhat safely confess here that I loved the refrigerator scene in 9 ½ Weeks for similar reasons. Can’t beat good old-fashioned fun with food. But I seriously digress. Sorry.
I know that these cookbooks will be no substitute for the sensual experience of watching their TV shows, but I have learned some terrific recipes from both Giada and Ina – and am anxious to recreate them for Dave and the girls.
So now that you know TMI about me, and my culinary proclivities maybe it will help you understand where I’m coming from with this food-focused blog. Thanks again for riding along with me on my trip to Crazy!
The two I received this year were Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis and Barefoot Contessa Parties by Ina Garten. Both women have shows on the Food Network, and those shows are what made me want to have their books. The chefs themselves are different. Giada focuses on Italian food, with a lot of influence from her family favorites. Ina covers a pretty broad spectrum in terms of what she cooks, which stems from her catering business. Both seem to do a lot of entertaining, if you believe the scenarios on which their episodes are based. But I really think what attracted me to their food, and ultimately their cookbooks, is the style in which their shows are produced.
Here’s where I let you in on a dirty little secret of mine. I think the preparation of food can be a sensual experience. Yes, that’s right. It’s a feast for the senses that can evoke certain emotions….or at least it does in me. And what makes me gravitate toward these shows is that the sensuality of preparing food is played up in the way it is filmed, edited, staged…everything. In Giada’s case – how can you not play up the sensual experience of cooking with this woman. She’s a 30ish dead ringer for Sophia Lauren. She is hot – and they really play that up (nary a show goes by when we don’t get a generous helping of Giada’s cleavage). But that aside, it’s in the way her hands move with the food product, the sound of an egg cracking while there’s a tight shot on it. Then there’s the beautiful bowl it gets deposited into. (They always have such beautiful dishware on these shows.)
I marvel at the simple elegance of a perfectly manicured hand chopping beautiful red peppers with a gleaming silver knife. And it’s not done in the frenzied way most chefs chop, but in a gentle, measured cadence – almost lovingly! There’s the sizzle of pancetta as it’s tossed into a hot pan, the stirring of creamy mascarpone cheese. Every time this show is on I am sucked in to watching it. Even Dave was mesmerized by it recently – although I think that’s because he was fantasizing that Giada and the female friend who was helping her in the kitchen that day were having some sort of an off-camera tryst. Men!
Now contrast that show with Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa and it proves my point that it is the food preparation that brings the sensuality to the show. She is the polar opposite of Giada in terms of sexual appeal, however the way in which her cooking process is portrayed is very similar. The ingredients she uses, the techniques she employs and the ease and elegance with which she works makes you want to see more. Makes you want to cook what she is cooking. She also has beautiful dishes, pots, pans, trays, knives, etc. I am so jealous of their materials…and their kitchens!
I first started to feel this way a couple of years ago when Nigella Lawson had her short-lived cooking show. Now there was a sensual cooking experience. They actually included shots of Nigella licking her finger in a provocative way. At times you almost felt like you were watching the beginning of a soft-core porno movie. Ahh….I did enjoy that show. Too bad it was on so briefly.
I guess I could also somewhat safely confess here that I loved the refrigerator scene in 9 ½ Weeks for similar reasons. Can’t beat good old-fashioned fun with food. But I seriously digress. Sorry.
I know that these cookbooks will be no substitute for the sensual experience of watching their TV shows, but I have learned some terrific recipes from both Giada and Ina – and am anxious to recreate them for Dave and the girls.
So now that you know TMI about me, and my culinary proclivities maybe it will help you understand where I’m coming from with this food-focused blog. Thanks again for riding along with me on my trip to Crazy!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Twas the day after Christmas and all through the kitchen...
I thought I’d share the menu from our Christmas night dinner. Our leisurely day afforded me the chance to do some more specialized cooking – especially where dessert is concerned. I enjoy making extra special meals for the holidays. It’s important to me that the people I love feel catered-to on Christmas. I try to make them feel so through the gifts I give, the way I present them, the food I serve….even the way I decorate the house is intended to make my family feel at home and comfortable. I want everything they encounter to be lovely and special. I’m sure my family considers these expectations that I place on myself to be way too high – but that’s just who I am. I have learned to be more flexible over the years. I guess age tempers some of the obsession, but that Norman Rockwell image still lurks in the back of my mind.
Anyway, I digress. Dave and I had the following for dinner:
Salad
greens, bacon, avocado, caramelized pecans and gorgonzola cheese tossed in a honey lemon vinaigrette
(I dressed the salad and stacked it on top of the plate using a small can with both ends cut off. It’s a neat way to present a salad because when you carefully remove the can the salad remains stacked in a cylinder….if you’re lucky!)
Filet Mignon
wrapped in bacon and broiled in the oven
(The BBQ grill picked tonight to ran out of gas – so we had to use my freshly-cleaned oven.)
Scalloped Gorgonzola Potatoes
Individual casseroles of sliced Yukon Gold potatoes in a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce
(Well, it was supposed to be a gorgonzola cheese sauce but the gorgonzola I purchased was SO salty and strong that I decided not to use very much of it. Instead, I topped the casseroles with grated parmesan cheese. Still good, but not what I was going for.)
Haricots Verts
steamed and tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette
(Yay Whole Foods for having real French green beans! These thin beauties cannot be bested by their American counterparts. The vinaigrette gave them a little added kick.)
Chocolate Mousse in Tuiles
on a bed of crème anglaise with fresh berries
(Here’s a picture. After some false starts making the chocolate mousse and a problem trying to pipe it into the cookie cup with a pastry bag I ended up just using a small ice cream scoop. I also had a heckuva time with the tuiles. Been a while since I've made them. I had forgotten how hard they are to get off the pan - even with a Silpat. I love these rectangular plates. They have so many possibilities and make for such a different presentation from the usual round plates.)
Anyway, I digress. Dave and I had the following for dinner:
Salad
greens, bacon, avocado, caramelized pecans and gorgonzola cheese tossed in a honey lemon vinaigrette
(I dressed the salad and stacked it on top of the plate using a small can with both ends cut off. It’s a neat way to present a salad because when you carefully remove the can the salad remains stacked in a cylinder….if you’re lucky!)
Filet Mignon
wrapped in bacon and broiled in the oven
(The BBQ grill picked tonight to ran out of gas – so we had to use my freshly-cleaned oven.)
Scalloped Gorgonzola Potatoes
Individual casseroles of sliced Yukon Gold potatoes in a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce
(Well, it was supposed to be a gorgonzola cheese sauce but the gorgonzola I purchased was SO salty and strong that I decided not to use very much of it. Instead, I topped the casseroles with grated parmesan cheese. Still good, but not what I was going for.)
Haricots Verts
steamed and tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette
(Yay Whole Foods for having real French green beans! These thin beauties cannot be bested by their American counterparts. The vinaigrette gave them a little added kick.)
Chocolate Mousse in Tuiles
on a bed of crème anglaise with fresh berries
(Here’s a picture. After some false starts making the chocolate mousse and a problem trying to pipe it into the cookie cup with a pastry bag I ended up just using a small ice cream scoop. I also had a heckuva time with the tuiles. Been a while since I've made them. I had forgotten how hard they are to get off the pan - even with a Silpat. I love these rectangular plates. They have so many possibilities and make for such a different presentation from the usual round plates.)
So, consider going all out for that special holiday dinner. New Years Eve is coming up. If you’re planning to stay in, put on the dog! Pull out all the stops! Insert whatever other cliché you can think of here! Show that special someone(s) that they are special to you!
p.s. While I believe he enjoys my cook-fests...or at least the product thereof, Dave dreads them because it means he has a kitchen-full of dishes to wash. He is always a trooper though. He understands, is tolerant of, and even supports my culinary and holiday perfection afflictions. Bless him for that! By the way - thank you honey for the Chocolate Tempering Thermometer!! I love it!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas! Happy first night of Chanukah!
It is a quiet morning for Dave and me. Due to various family challenges we find ourselves solo this Christmas. The girls won’t join us until after dinner – so we’re both a little listless without presents to open and play with. We had a lovely, romantic Christmas Eve. Dinner consisted of an appetizer buffet. We had Rumaki (water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, glazed with a soy sauce and brown sugar mixture), Spinach and Artichoke Dip, a cheese plate, chilled shrimp cocktail and mini quiches. The name of the game was ease and convenience – so several of the items were store-bought. Yes I said it - store-bought. Egad! We lit the candles and the fireplace and noshed while watching “A Christmas Story”. It was wonderfully peaceful and romantic.
This morning we opened the gifts in our stockings while sipping the traditional Christmas Morning Mimosa. I received two Oxo Y-peelers….which I have been wanting! One has julienne teeth on it…so I will be a garnishing whiz soon, no doubt! Dave just shakes his head when I get giddy over kitchen gadgets.
After stockings, we had Pecan Sticky Buns. This was the first batch I had tasted made with Plugra – and I thought they were very yummy. They were light and flaky, rich and sweet. I wish they would have risen a bit higher, but I think that may have been due to the pan, or lack thereof.
You see, when I was planning Sticky Bun Fest 2005, I figured out a way to give everyone their own batch of rolls in a reheatable ‘pan’. Although, it is not a true pan. These neat containers are pan-shaped and made of some type of paper/cardboard that you can bake, store and serve in. So, I made batches of 8 pecan rolls each and baked them in this cardboard pan. Then, when they cooled I wrapped them festively and attached instructions for reheating and serving. I sent a package for each family ‘household’ up to Cleveland with my niece, Amanda. Hopefully theirs reheated and unmolded as easily as mine did.
A few notes on the sticky buns themselves. They are probably th
e most time-intensive thing I have made….but the results are more than worth it. The recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Bread Bible”. I love Rose because she always clues you in to the science behind what you bake. This recipe starts out as a recipe for brioche. Brioche is a bread that contains eggs and butter. There are many risings – 3 rising periods of 2 hours each, plus more than 8 hours of chill time in the refrigerator. One of the key steps is to let the dough sit in the ‘fridge overnight, so I actually had to map out an hour-by-hour schedule so that the overnight chill time would coincide with bedtime. I think I’ve figured out that if I start the recipe by 4:00-5:00PM it will work fine with my 11PM bedtime.
Then, there’s the making of the caramel and the filling, the toasting of the pecans, etc. As I said, it is time-consuming but worth it. The result is definitely a labor of love.
I hope all of you who received them enjoy!
To all a Merry Christmas. May Santa bring you all what your hearts desire.
This morning we opened the gifts in our stockings while sipping the traditional Christmas Morning Mimosa. I received two Oxo Y-peelers….which I have been wanting! One has julienne teeth on it…so I will be a garnishing whiz soon, no doubt! Dave just shakes his head when I get giddy over kitchen gadgets.
After stockings, we had Pecan Sticky Buns. This was the first batch I had tasted made with Plugra – and I thought they were very yummy. They were light and flaky, rich and sweet. I wish they would have risen a bit higher, but I think that may have been due to the pan, or lack thereof.
You see, when I was planning Sticky Bun Fest 2005, I figured out a way to give everyone their own batch of rolls in a reheatable ‘pan’. Although, it is not a true pan. These neat containers are pan-shaped and made of some type of paper/cardboard that you can bake, store and serve in. So, I made batches of 8 pecan rolls each and baked them in this cardboard pan. Then, when they cooled I wrapped them festively and attached instructions for reheating and serving. I sent a package for each family ‘household’ up to Cleveland with my niece, Amanda. Hopefully theirs reheated and unmolded as easily as mine did.
A few notes on the sticky buns themselves. They are probably th
e most time-intensive thing I have made….but the results are more than worth it. The recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Bread Bible”. I love Rose because she always clues you in to the science behind what you bake. This recipe starts out as a recipe for brioche. Brioche is a bread that contains eggs and butter. There are many risings – 3 rising periods of 2 hours each, plus more than 8 hours of chill time in the refrigerator. One of the key steps is to let the dough sit in the ‘fridge overnight, so I actually had to map out an hour-by-hour schedule so that the overnight chill time would coincide with bedtime. I think I’ve figured out that if I start the recipe by 4:00-5:00PM it will work fine with my 11PM bedtime.Then, there’s the making of the caramel and the filling, the toasting of the pecans, etc. As I said, it is time-consuming but worth it. The result is definitely a labor of love.
I hope all of you who received them enjoy!
To all a Merry Christmas. May Santa bring you all what your hearts desire.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
I'm Legal! Well, almost.
This morning I was visited by Inspector Hank Kimball (not his real name) from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. He was here to make me a licensed home baker. It seemed all too easy. Most of the time spent was related to a new software program he had on his laptop. Once he made a couple of phone calls to figure out how to enter data for a home bakery (that boosted my confidence!) he was almost done. Just a quick check of the lower cabinets with a flashlight (for rodent droppings?), a peek into the oven and a temperature check of the refrigerator and I was legal! Here are a few pearls of wisdom that I gleaned during the “inspection”:
At the end of it all, I handed him a check for $10 and should receive the official license (which will be appropriately framed and displayed) in two weeks. I feel better knowing I can hold myself out as a licensed baker. The requirements aren’t as rigorous as I would like, but I think it still says something that I took the time to get this done. After all, I'm sure few people can tolerate the ramblings of a Hank Kimball.
Side Dish
Another exciting happening today: The sharpening lady is here! She’s got a dozen or so knives, scissors, etc. out in her handy mobile sharpening workshop right now and is going to town on those blades. What a neat idea! All serious cooks love a good sharp knife. I will definitely be a slicin’ fool! No Ginsu necessary in this household.
- Your refrigerator should be kept at approximately 41degrees, but no higher than 45 degrees. It was recommended that I get a refrigerator thermometer to measure the temperature.
- Hank’s mother makes the best raspberry pie ever. You take 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1 cup of sugar…… ok I won’t bore you with the rest of the recipe. Seriously, he recited the entire recipe from memory for me.
- If I ever sell to a business I need to prepare an ingredients label for the product which needs to include all sub-ingredients. For example, if I use peanut butter I have to list all of the ingredients in the peanut butter. Can’t just list “peanut butter”. Also have to list the net weight of the product both as a whole, and the individual portions.
- Hank is a handy guy. Not only did he subcontract his own home but he bought a HUD home and rehabbed it himself. No small fete, considering the previous owner had 11 dogs.
- Flour should be kept for no longer than 3 months, and the container should be washed between fillings.
- Hank is a single father whose ex-wife is from Chicago. He’s spent a lot of time there and particularly enjoyed Comisky Park, Navy Pier and Ed Debevics.
- Hank recently had an embarrassing laundry incident. His socks are bleached out because of his hot tub. Apparently bromide, which is used in hot tubs, is a form of bleach. Let that be a lesson to all of us - do not intermingle beach towels and wet bathing suits with the rest of your laundry.
At the end of it all, I handed him a check for $10 and should receive the official license (which will be appropriately framed and displayed) in two weeks. I feel better knowing I can hold myself out as a licensed baker. The requirements aren’t as rigorous as I would like, but I think it still says something that I took the time to get this done. After all, I'm sure few people can tolerate the ramblings of a Hank Kimball.
Side Dish
Another exciting happening today: The sharpening lady is here! She’s got a dozen or so knives, scissors, etc. out in her handy mobile sharpening workshop right now and is going to town on those blades. What a neat idea! All serious cooks love a good sharp knife. I will definitely be a slicin’ fool! No Ginsu necessary in this household.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Tools and Ingredients
I promised you all a peek at the pan I used to make those small cheesecakes, so here it is. As you’ll see, it is non-stick and has little removable bottoms for each of the 12 holes. I’ll offer a word of caution here – based on recent experience. DO NOT forget to remove those metal disks before you serve. I had the embarrassing task of asking for one of those back after I noticed it sitting on the plate of a co-worker who had just finished one of the cheesecakes. I apologized and explained that I had thought I had removed all of those prior to serving – to which he responded “Yeah, I thought it was weird that I kept hitting something hard at the bottom when I dug my fork into the cheesecake.” Ugh!!
So back to this beautiful pan. It’s really easy to remove the cheesecakes once they’ve chilled overnight. Just take your thumbs and gently push up from the bottom, coaxing around all edges. I started off by running a small knife around the edges before pushing them out but found it unnecessary….plus it ruined the smooth edges of the little cakes. Just be gentle and they will come out perfectly for you.
The pan is from a company called Norpro and can be found here for $21.95 each. A bit pricey, but the resulting dessert is worth it in my opinion.
Side Dish
This week begins Sticky Bun Fest 2005. (Get those minds out of the gutter. This has nothing to do with lusty coeds and honey.) I’m planning on making many batches of my famous Brioche Pecan Rolls, and have a new ingredient to try. I’ve heard a lot about Plugra and I want to see if it makes a difference. Plugra is “European Style” butter. Why Plugra? Well, it’s about butterfat content. And appropriately, I’ve read that Plugra means "more fat" in French. (Mlle. Amanda will be so proud!) I’ve also read that butterfat is tremendously important for taste, texture, and workability. Whatever isn't butterfat in butter is mostly water, and water is not what will make a crust or pastry taste luscious. By law, American butters must contain no less than 80% butterfat. In France, the law stipulates a minimum butterfat content of 82%. Each percentage point of fat makes a difference, so you can imagine the difference you'll taste with French butters - they have a minimum of 84% butterfat, but often weigh in at 86%. We’ll see if the taste difference is notable.
Check back for photos and descriptions of the Sticky Bun Fest.
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