Pastry Student: Rising Like Dough

Haitus

2009-07-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from this blog, but am keeping it up for the archived info and photos.

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy!

Fellow Foodie Interview Chocolatier Art Pollard

2009-07-04T19:02:00.001-07:00

Interested in the world of dark, yummy, luxurious chocolate?

Then read this fabo interview with chocolatier Art Pollard. The interview was conducted by blogger Christine Mack (AKA The "Mistress of Cakes") on her blog Maman and Gourmand: Homemade with Love.

YUM!

June Daring Bakers Challenge: Bakewell Tart...er...Pudding

2009-07-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Wow. This was a cool challenge, because there's there’s no “one" way to make a Bakewell Tart. However, Jasmine and Annemarie shared that most versions made today are either “puddings,” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry, or a “tart,” in which a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling. Read this Wikipedia article for more history on the tarts, if you like.

Our challenge was to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

NOTE: I am having technical difficulties with my camera, so my pics are not yet attached. But not to worry. Here's a lovely photo of a tart from flickr, and a link to a bunch of Google pictures so you can see the width and breath of how they might look!

You really must try making these. They're perfect for afternoon tea, or to take to your next dinner party. And if you don't care for almonds, try substituting other nuts (perhaps pistachio or hazelnut), or leave them out completely if you're a nut-free person. ;-)

RECIPE

*This recipe makes one 9” tart or 6 4" tarts
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes (or 20 minutes for mini tarts) -- note: baking time may exceed these directions. Just bake the tart until it doesn't jiggle when you tap the pan. If the tart is getting too dark, cover it with tin foil.
Equipment needed: tart pan(s) or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges) and a rolling pin

Ingredients:
One recipe of sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Extra flour
1 cup jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One recipe of frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds (or not!)

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, and cling film

note: most of the recipe ingredients below are in ounces. You really need to get yourself a digital scale, if you don't have one. Baking requires accuracy; a scale is the best way to achieve that! I used to have a scale that jumped to pounds once it got over 16 ounces. I hated that, because it messed up my thinking, when I was adding in a number of ingredients! So be sure the scale you buy fits with your brain! HA!

Ingredients:

8 oz all purpose flour
1 oz sugar
½ tsp salt
4 oz unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
½ tsp almond extract (optional) -- note: I don't really like almonds, so I left this out, substituting vanilla extract instead
1-2 Tbsp cold water

* Sift together the flour, sugar and salt.

* Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater.

* Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

* Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

* Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Frangipane Recipe

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, and rubber spatula

Ingredients:
4.5 oz unsalted butter, softened
4.5 oz icing (powdered) sugar
3 eggs at ROOM TEMP
½ tsp almond extract -- note: remove, if you don't like almonds
4.5 oz ground almonds -- note: remove, if you don't like almonds
1 oz all purpose flour

* Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in color (pale yellow) and very fluffy.

* Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle (kinda looks like vomit!), but it's fine. When it's baked, you'll be smacking your lips!

* After all three eggs are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds, scraping down the sides again. (Or skip this step!)

* With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart:

* Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let the dough warm up for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

* Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 1/4 inch thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll.

* When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. DO NOT SKIP THIS LAST STEP!! ;-)

* Preheat oven to 400F.

* Remove shell from freezer, and spread with an even layer jam. NOTE: Your filling ingredients should be at room temp before spreading into crust!! If they are too hot, they will start to cook the pastry shell, making it go soft before it gets in the heated oven, thus giving you a soggy crust.

* Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart (it won't overflow as it cooks, so really do place it all the way to the edges). Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brown.

* Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking. (Or skip this step!)

* Remove the tart from the oven when the crust is golden and the frangipane tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce, if you wish.

Additional Notes:

• When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

• If you choose a jam with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, sieve the seeds out.

• Use anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1 cup of jam, depending on how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are.

ENJOY!!!

Blueberry Muffin Tops. YUM!!

2009-05-14T14:21:00.001-07:00

These blueberry muffins, just out of the oven and slathered with a dab of butter, are so yummy that my curls nearly curl with pleasure as I'm inhaling them! HA! So it's a good thing they're kind of a pain in the butt to make (but isn't any good treat?!), or I'd be whipping up a new batch every morning for breakfast!

You can make these with or without the crumb topping, but the contrast of textures is so lovely that I suggest going all out!

Note: I make mine in mini muffin pans (in a subconscious way of giving myself permission to eat more because they're so small!), but you can make them in a regular muffin-top pan, if you like your muffins big and beautiful. The best part about muffin tops is that they're mostly crunch and less "bread." Which is why I love them soooooooo!

Batter Ingredients:

3/4 stick (6 T) unsalted butter

1/3 c. milk

1 large egg

1 large yolk

3/4 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

3/4 t. salt

2 c. (12 oz) fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

Topping Ingredients:

3 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

3 1/2 T. sugar

Directions:

Batter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, placing oven rack in upper third of oven.

2. Generously butter muffin pans.

3. Melt batter butter in small saucepan over low heat, then remove from heat.

4. Whisk the milk into the butter, followed by the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.

5. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

6. Add the milk mixture to the dry mixture and stir JUST until combined.

7. Fold the blueberries in gently.

8. Evenly spread the batter between your muffin cups.

Topping

1. Combine the topping ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until crumbly.

3. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. This cake take from 20 minutes on.

IF YOU HAVE THE PATIENCE (HA!), cool the muffins in their pan(s) on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each muffin and gently remove it from the pan.

(But if you're like me, you won't have the patience to wait...at least until you've downed one or two or three of these tasty morsels!!!)

Enjoy! This recipe is courtesy of Epicurious.com.

Daring Bakers Do Cheesecake!

2009-04-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Prep note: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Plan accordingly!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

crust: 
2 cups graham cracker crumbs 
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar 
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese (total of 24 oz), room temperature (I used the “1/3 less fat” bars!)
1 cup sugar 
3 large eggs 
1 cup heavy cream 
1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. liqueur (I used a coffee liquor)

(note: I also topped mine with a caramel sauce. The recipe for that follows below the cake photos.)

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan (I use a spring form pan). I suggest just pressing the crust into the bottom. Set prepared pan(s) aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and liquor and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust(s) and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan, so that you can make a water bath. TIP 1: You’ll add the water once you get the pans in the oven, to avoid your possibly splashing the boiling water on yourself. TIP 2: do the pouring quickly, or go ahead and set the oven to 375, so that the temp will only drop to 350 by the time you close the door. If you do this, however, remember to then turn the oven down. YOU MUST SET THE CRUST PAN IN TWO LAYERS OF FOIL, AS YOU DON’T WANT THE WATER TO LEAK INTO THE PAN. Pour the boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until cheesecake is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to be solid around the edge, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let the cheesecake rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill.

6. Just before serving, remove the spring form pan. Or, if adding the caramel topping as I did, leave the plan in place until after you've poured the caramel over the cheesecake and given it time to set in the fridge.

** I USED THE FOLLOWING SUGGESTED VARIATION, but also added chocolate chips, so I could create two layers (one vanilla colored, one brown):

Cafe au lait cheesecake: take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal.

**This tasty caramel sauce recipe came from Simply Recipes. Store-bought doesn't compare to homemade, as it typically lacks dairy!

caramel:
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, before you begin, make sure you have your three ingredients measured and ready to put in the pan, as making caramel is a fast process. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn.

2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on.

3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. The caramel will foam up a bit. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4. Take the pan off the heat once the butter has melted. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. The caramel will foam up again as you add the cream, which is why you should use a much larger pan (at least 2-quarts) than you think you need, to make sure you don't accidentally burn yourself.

5. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass jar or measuring cup and let sit to cool for about five minutes. Pour over the chilled cheesecake, then return the cheesecake to the fridge for at least half an hour so the caramel gels a bit. This is a nice, thick sauce. Makes about one cup. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

These Chef Tools are So Cute!!

2009-04-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

From sifter, to icing spreader, to pastry brush to measuring cup, these silicone chef tools are sooo cute! Why? Because they look like little people! They stand up sturdily on suction cup feet, and their arms and legs are bendable. HA!

This pastry brush is my favorite!

I'm Addicted to Stuffed Banana Peppers!!

2009-03-19T20:31:00.001-07:00

One foodie item I have grown to love since moving to Buffalo, NY, is stuffed banana peppers. YUM! If you've not tried them, then do so. NOW!

Sorry I only have two photos of the finished product. (Count yourself lucky -- I nearly forgot to take even those before the hubby and I scarfed these down for dinner!)

Here's how to make these yummies. Note: you can serve them up as an appetizer, a side dish, or a main meal. For an appetizer, provide one per person. For a side dish, prepare two per person. For a main meal, you better count on three per person, if not more. Trust me, you can't make too many. They're addictive!!

INGREDIENTS

*8 banana peppers (don't get really small ones; they're harder to stuff)
*4 oz. log of goat cheese
*8 oz. grated cheese (my grocery sells a delicious mix of Asiago, Fontina, Parmesan, and Provolone)

DIRECTIONS

1. On a cutting board, make a slit across the stem-end of the pepper, but don't cut so deeply through the pepper that the stem falls off.

2. From that cut, make a slit the length of the pepper. This slit will allow you to pull the front of the pepper open so that you can remove the seeds and membranes. TIP: banana peppers can run very hot. If you like things tame, you might want to remove *ALL* of the seeds and membranes. If you like things a bit spicy, try leaving the membranes intact. (There's no shame in grabbing a glass of milk, if needed!)

3. Cart your peppers over to the sink. With the tap on low, quickly rinse the inside of each pepper to remove the seeds and membranes. TIP: Don't hang your head directly over the peppers; the fumes can really get you to coughing!

4. Drain the peppers on a paper towel, cut side down, so that you don't transfer any water to your saute skillet.

5. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in your skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and saute on both sides until they soften. This takes only about five minutes on each side. They should have whitish burn marks on both sides. Gorgeous!

6. Transfer the peppers to a baking dish large enough to accommodate your peppers. I use a 9x11 glass baking dish that I use for brownies.

7. While the peppers cool enough to handle, mix your cheeses together. Mash the log of goat cheese with a fork, then mix in the shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

8. Distribute the cheese mixture evenly between your peppers. I typically use one hand to open the slit and the other to sprinkle in the cheese.

9. Finally, sprinkle a layer of your shredded cheese over the tops of the stuffed peppers. This cheese will crisp and brown. Delicious!

10. Cook the peppers at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

VOILA! ENJOY!!

Dishing Up Homemade Ice Cream

2009-03-18T18:32:00.001-07:00

After two longs weeks of disgusting, painful bronchitis, I am FINALLY back to feel better. I decided I deserve a treat.

So tonight I tried a vanilla bean ice cream recipe, to which I decided to add defrosted frozen blueberries. Alas, while the texture was extremely creamy, the taste was too eggy for me and, in general, nothing to get excited about. In one word: BLAH. So I won't share the recipe, but I will share the pics. ;-)

Below I'm slicing the vanilla bean open so that I can add it to 2% milk I will bring to a boil. I'd never cooked with a fresh vanilla bean before. I expected it to have seeds that would spill out, not a sticky inner coating that I had to scrape with a knife!

In this photo I'm whisking egg yolks, granulated sugar, and corn starch together. The finished recipe, which called for 6 tablespoons of sugar, was definitely not sweet enough. I'd have to experiment to see how much more to add to get it closer to the sweetness of commercial ice cream.

Here I'm adding the boiled milk/vanilla bean mixture to the egg yolks.

Below I've put the combined milk/heavy cream/egg yolk mixture back on the stove to thicken. Compare the thinness of the custard at this point to the thickened version in the next photo.

The mixture thickened up after only about five minutes. Tip: stir constantly, over gentle heat, until the mixture coats the back of your spoon.

After popping the mixture into the freezer so it would quickly chill, I whipped a half pint of heavy cream by hand. The recipe called for it to be thickened, yet still thin enough to drip from the whisk. Tip: cover the egg mixture with clear wrap before adding the bowl to the freezer. Press the wrap directly onto the custard so it doesn't form a rubbery skin.

In the photo below, I'm folding the heavy cream into the cooled custard.

The rest of the work will be done by my ice cream maker. Hard to believe I'll have ice cream in just 25 minutes!

At the end of the 25 minutes, I added plump, defrosted blueberries. Next time I would coat them thinly with sugar before adding them to the frozen custard. It looks yummy, right?!

Here's the bowl my husband kindly scarfed down. Too bad it didn't taste half as good as it looked!

Daring Bakers February Challenge: Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

2009-02-28T11:16:00.001-08:00

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan as the challenge.

This cake recipe is yummy, easy to make, and best of all requires only three ingredients!!!!

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 25-40 minutes

Pan Needed: 6-8" Springform pan

Serves 8

Ingredients:
16 ounces (1 pound) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often. (Note: the water should never boil when you do this, or the pan becomes too hot to hold while you stir. Just bring it to a nice simmer.)

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling, butter your springform pan and line with a parchment circle. Then butter the parchment.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium bowls. (Note: I always pop my bowl and mixer beaters into the freezer for a few minutes before I add egg whites.)

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.

8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F.

9. Bake 25-40 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F. Note: If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will look wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

11. Allow the cake to cool another 20 minutes or so before you cut into it. Otherwise you'll be dishing up what looks like a Molten Lava Cake (unless a flowing chocolate center rocks your boat!).

12. Serve with fresh whipped cream, ice cream, or decorative items of your choice.

Some Labanese Yummies

2009-02-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

I just had to post about these Lebanese yummies!

Because tonight I enjoyed a wonderful Lebanese dinner at the home of my good friends, Leo and Amy. Two of my new favorite dishes, shown above, are Rolled Grape Leaves and Koosa Mihshee (stuffed squash). Though both dishes are made with the same beef/rice filling, they each offer up a unique finished flavor.

Following are directions on making the filling, as well as both dishes. Leo learned the recipes from his mom (which he tweaked, as creative cooks tend to do!). He says his mom cooked up weekly Lebanese dishes for him and his gaggle of brothers and sisters. Lucky him!

MEAT/RICE FILLING

INGREDIENTS

*1 lb. raw ground round (or hamburger)
*1 c. uncooked rice. Use Uncle Ben's parboiled rice
*1 onion, chopped fine
*1 small can tomato paste
*minced garlic
*fresh parsley
*bottled or fresh lemon juice
*cinnamon

1) Soak the rice in lemon juice for about 15 minutes, until it swells. You can dilute the lemon juice with water, if you like, but the lemon juice adds a nice zing to the rice. ;-)

2) Pour off the lemon juice.

3) Combine the rice, onion, and tomato paste. Add fresh parsley, minced garlic, and cinnamon to taste.

4) Add this to the meat and mix well.

5) Refrigerate until ready to make rolled grape leaves or stuffed squash.

ROLLED GRAPE LEAVES

INGREDIENTS

*meat/rice filling above
*1 large jar grape leaves
*tomato sauce

1) Remove the grape leaves from jar.

2) Place on flat surface, with the point of the leaves facing away from you.

3) Lay a log of the meat/rice mixture across the leaf, parallel to the bottom edge. The strip should but thicker than a cigarette, but not as fat as a cigar. The rice will swell as it is cooked, which is why you don't want it too thick.

4) Roll the bottom edge of the leaf toward the tip, folding in the sides, so that the filling can't escape.

5) Find a lidded pot big enough to accommodate all of the rolled grape leaves.

6) Cover the bottom of the pot with crinkled foil, extra grape leaves, or a rack. This will keep the leaves from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

7) Stack the rolled grape leaves in the pot, crisscrossing the layers, so that air can circulate around them freely.

8) Pour fresh or canned tomato sauce over the grape leaves.

9) Place a plate, upside down, over the top layer. The pressure of the plate will keep keep the leaves from unrolling.

10) Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for about 45 minutes. To check doneness, carefully remove the plate with tongues. Remove one of the rolled grape leaves and cut off a bite. If the rice is soft, the leaves are done!

KOOSA MIHSHEE

INGREDIENTS

*meat/rice filling above
*tomato sauce
*allspice
*cinnamon
*12 fresh zucchini or summer squash, or brined koosa (found in Lebanese markets). Just know that the brining makes the koosa a bit less tender than using the fresh -- though still delicious!

1) If using fresh zucchini or summer squash: Use only small squash. Rinse squash in cold, salted water. Cut off stem tips and gently hollow out centers of squash using long corer. Leave about 1/8-inch thickness.

2) If using brined koosa: Rinse the squash thoroughly in cold water to flush out the brine. Remove stem and hollow out with a long corer, if not already prepared.

3) Stuff the meat/rice filling loosely in the squash, using your finger. Leave about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of space at top, to allow for expansion of the rice as it steams. (Note: these are brined koosa, which is why they look so wrinkly.)

4) Cover bottom of pot with a rack or crinkled foil to prevent squash from scorching. Cover the bottom inch or so with tomato sauce. Sprinkle in cinnamon, allspice, and salt to taste.

5) Stand the squash in the sauce on their ends, so that the stuffed ends are facing up.

6) Pour more tomato sauce over the squash, amply covering them.

7) Cover with lid, bring to boil, and steam for about 30 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Yes, this is a lot of effort. But it's so worth it, especially since you'll probably have leftovers!!

Chickens Deserve More Respect!

2009-02-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to know how a chicken lays an egg. Today I found out. Here's what I now know without a doubt: Chickens do NOT get enough respect for what they do for us on a DAILY basis!!!

Wanna see what I mean? Then watch this YouTube video which shows a chicken making a deposit, (very) up close and personal.

NOTE: do not watch this video if body functions make you nauseous, or if you've just eaten! You might make a deposit of your own!!!

And Now a Reminder for Restaurant Sanitation

2009-02-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

So, have you seen the recent CNN video in which a Texas woman complains to the reporter that a dead mouse was included in her dinner order? (And at no extra charge!)

Pretty gross, huh?

I don't know about you, but if I found a small, dead mouse glistening in the sauce of my entree, I'd be screaming too. Especially if the restaurant manager then accused me of planting said mouse!

Of course, the woman in the video could have done so...but it seems far-fetched given that the reporter then shared that the restaurant in question routinely fails its health inspections.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

But I can top that. Here in Buffalo, one of our local Chinese restaurants was recently nabbed for skinning a deer in its kitchen!!

An alert person, cell phone camera in hand, captured the carcass being dragged in the back door, then wasted no time in alerting the city health inspector. Ironically, this restaurant also repeatedly fails its health inspections. And it's still open, if you can believe that people still frequent it.

Just gag me already. But not with mice, lice, and deer ticks!

This kind of contamination leaves me queasy. But the bigger threat to public health (YOURS and MINE) walks into restaurants every single day: in the form of germ-toting waiters, dishwashers, and cooks. (And managers!)

Seriously, if these peeps aren't coughing on our burgers, carting our water glasses around by the lip, or using the same knife to cut up both the lettuce and (raw) chicken that's in our order of chicken salad, then they're simply not bothering to wash their hands.

I have witnessed waitresses exit the ladies room without turning on the tap, cooks who reuse aprons they've tossed carelessly on the ground, and kitchen staff who don't sanitize after taking that last drag on their beloved cigarette.

Sigh. It's enough to make you not eat out.

But no one wants the restaurant industry to tank, including me. There are plenty of ship-tight restaurants out there with nary a sanitation issue. So let's reward them by keeping them in business. And may the Sanitation Gods watch over you!

Cool Kid's Book About Bread

2009-01-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

Just passing along another baking book I think is cool, this time for kids. It's called Loaves of Fun, by Elizabeth Harbison.

Loaves was first published back in the late 1990s. But don't let its "old" print date stop you from grabbing a copy for your home library. With its fun cover, interesting info, and kid-friendly recipes, the book still feels contemporary and fresh.

I highly recommend it for readers age six and up (yeah, even you adult bakers!).

Not only will you learn some really cool historical info about bread (including how the sandwich got its name!), but you can be there when your kids whip up their very first batches of sourdough starter, Roman Bread Pudding, Amish Friendship Bread, and Colonial Third Bread!

SO ORDER A COPY AND LET THE BAKE OFF BEGIN!

(And send me samples! HA!)

Loaves of Fun
ISBN: 978-1556523113
Chicago Review Press

Maybe the BEST Kitchen Resource Ever!

2009-01-18T12:19:00.001-08:00

Another great "explain-all" book that I highly recommend: The Kitchen Answer Book by Hank Rubin (ISBN 9781892123749).

5,000+ questions and answers are arranged in broad categories: Baking, Caffeine, Dairy, Eggs, Fowl, Fruits and Nuts, Grains, Beans, and Pasta, Meat, Seafood, Seasoning, Stocks, Soups and Sauces, Utensils, and Vegetables

This book is amazing!

An excellent gift to give anyone who wants to be a whiz in the kitchen. ;-)

Some Books That Explain "WHY??"

2009-01-13T14:07:00.001-08:00

Hey there, Dear Baker --

If you're like me, you're really wanting to know WHY and HOW various baking items -- from raw eggs to baking soda -- do their magic in the kitchen. Even better, you'd like to be able to look at a recipe and just "know" if it's going to work.

To that end, I've got some book recommendations for you! I stumbled upon them while doing research for a children's baking book I'm writing.

Read and digest them and you'll soon be a whiz on the "science" of baking.

BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes -- by Shirley O. Corriher

How to Read a French Fry: And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science -- by Russ Parsons

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen -- by Harold McGee

What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained -- by Robert L. Wolke

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers December Challenge: Yule Log

2008-12-31T11:17:00.000-08:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand in France.

Holy Cow, Batman! I join up to participate in this online baking group, and my first challenge is a doozy!

First, the good news: I tried. I really did. Second, the bad news: my yule log ended up looking more like a turd log. (Despite the assistance of my wonderful baking partner, Alyssa.) HA!

Let me share the recipe with you, just so you can see what we tried to get our minds (and fingers!) around. Because this yule log had many parts or "elements," as they're called. Six of them, to be exact.

**ELEMENT #1 - DAQUOISE BISCUIT (ALMOND CAKE)

Preparation time: 10 minutes + 15 minutes for baking

Equipment:
2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper

You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

Ingredients:
2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) Almond meal
1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) Confectioner’s sugar
2Tbsp (15g) All-purpose flour
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) or about
3 Medium egg whites
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) Granulated sugar

Method:
1. Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc...) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden. 8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Note: We had no almond meal, so we used a blender to grind slivered almonds.

Here are photos of our Dacquoise:

**ELEMENT #2 - DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Equipment:
Stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment, thermometer, double boiler or equivalent, spatula.

You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with a sugar syrup, then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulée insert.

Ingredients:
2.5 Sheets gelatin or 5g / 1 + 1/4 Tsp powdered gelatin
1.5 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) Granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tsp (10g) Glucose or thick corn syrup
0.5 oz (15g) Water
50g Egg yolks (about 3 medium)
6.2 oz (175g) Dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 Cups (350g) Heavy cream (35% fat content)

Method:
1. Soften the gelatin in cold water (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package).
2. Make a Pate a Bombe: Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).
2a. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F/118°C. If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature).
2b. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer.
2c. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.
3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons (30g) of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
4. Whip the remainder of cream until stiff.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup (100g) of whipped cream to temper. Add the Pate a Bombe.
6. Add in the rest of the Whipped cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Note: I think one of our first missteps was with this element. Yeah, right around step #2b. Because when we added the sugar "syrup" to the egg yolks, the sugar hardened in clumps. So, no, there was no mixing of the two. In fact, to be honest, I dished the sugar clumps out with a spoon and tossed them! HA!

**ELEMENT #3 - DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE INSERT

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Equipment:
Pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.

Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

Ingredients:
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) Granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) Heavy cream (35% fat content)
5 oz (135g) Dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) Unsalted butter softened

Method:
1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Note: no problems here, fortunately!!

**ELEMENT #4 - PRALINE FEUILLETE (CRISP) INSERT

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Equipment:
Small saucepan, baking sheet (if you make lace crepes). Double boiler (or one small saucepan in another), wax paper, rolling pin (or I use an empty bottle of olive oil).

Feuillete means layered (as in with leaves) so a Praline Feuillete is a Praline version of a delicate crisp.

Ingredients:
3.5 oz (100g) Milk chocolate
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) Unsalted butter
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) Praline
2.1oz (60g) Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes or Special K

Method:
1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Note: more problems here, Batman! We had neither praline nor Rice Krispies...but we did have some leftover candied slivered almonds. So we ground those up finely. Then we grabbed an individual box of sugary cereal from the school cafeteria and added that in. Hmmmm.....could that be why our praline turned out so hard that we couldn't cut through it when we went to slice the cake? Me thinks the recipe hosts could have been more specific as to the thickness they wanted. Oh, wait....I now see the recipe says this should resemble a "delicate" crisp. As in "Don't make it a quarter-inch thick, you dorks!" But just so you know, it looked and tasted great! HA!

**ELEMENT #5 - VANILLA CRÈME BRULÉE INSERT

Preparation time: 15 minutes + 1h infusing (unless you use vanilla extract) + 1h baking

Equipment:
Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper

The vanilla crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the vanilla with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc...

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (115g) Heavy cream (35% fat content)
1/2 Cup (115g) Whole milk
4 Medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) Granulated sugar
1 Vanilla bean

Method:
1. Heat the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center (You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log - the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things - nonetheless it would be recommendable to use a water bath for the following reasons: you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done, you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better - it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bath. Since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help).
5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Note: I'm not gonna lie to you. We decided to skip the crème brulée step. Too much bother for so little return, we reasoned. Yeah...we might have been wrong about that. Because the banana mousse we made instead seemingly disappeared! Only a tiny smidgen was to be found when we sliced the cake. (I'm thinking this was an act by the Daring Baker Fairy, teaching us to never, ever, skip a step in future challenges!)

**ELEMENT #6 - DARK CHOCOLATE ICING

Preparation time: 25 minutes (10 minutes if you don’t count softening the gelatin)

Equipment:

Small bowl, small saucepan.

Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute. For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

Ingredients:
4g / 1/2 Tbsp Powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
1/4 Cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) Granulated sugar
1/4 Cup (50g) Water 1/3 Cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:
1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

Note: the only problem here is that the recipe didn't make nearly enough to cover our log. We had to stop and make a second batch, just when we were ready to ice our frozen log. Pop! Back into the freezer with you, stat!

**ASSEMBLING THE LOG

1) Dacquoise
2) Mousse
3) Crème Brulée Insert
4) Mousse
5) Praline/Crisp Insert
6) Mousse
7) Ganache Insert

Here are the assembly steps, accompanied by our photos:

A) Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.

B) Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.

C) Take the Crème Brulée Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.

D) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Crème Brulée Insert.

E) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.

F) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.

G) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.

H) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top. (Note: oops! we were supposed to pipe the ganache!)

I) Close with the last strip of Dacquoise. (Note: we surrounded ours with extra mousse.)

J) Freeze until the next day.

The next day (or, in our case, two days later!):

1. Unmold the cake/log and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan.

2. Cover the cake with the icing. (Note: yeah, this is where we really made a boo-boo. The icing had cooled just enough that when we tried to pour it over the frozen log, the icing set. Yuck!)

So we hurried back to the stove to make another batch (a double this time!). But then we obviously didn't let it cool enough, because when we poured it onto the log, it began melting the log. "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

3. Next you're supposed to decorate the still-frozen log....but we lost heart after watching it start to pool away. So we decided to cut our losses and cut the log to see how the layers looked. As you can see, they're decidedly unappetizing! Thus, our pronouncement of, "We've created a turd log!"

Oh, well! The experience wasn't a total wash: we DID learn to make Dacquoise, for one thing. HA! And we learned a bit about layering different textures, and especially about being mindful of thicknesses. All good stuff.

Too, as our challenge hosts reminded our group of courageous bakers, "the spirit of the group is to try new things and to stretch your baking limits, trying it and challenging yourself is what matters, not whether you had a perfect outcome or loved the taste of the outcome (although the taste thing would obviously be preferable)."

Ummm....yeah. But when you're dealing with a recipe this expensive, it would be great to see it turn out. ;-)

Don't worry, I'm still gonna show you some eye candy!!!

If you want to see this dessert in a perfect form, jump onto the Saffron & Blueberry (this month's hosts) blog. Their yule log is gosh-darn beautiful, though I will make one observation: their "dark chocolate" mousse insert looks decidedly like vanilla, and their "creme brulee" insert looks like it's made with chocolate. Perhaps they switched things up???

Here are some links to other Daring Baker bloggers who had more success with this month's challenge. You'll learn a lot if you take the time to read their comments. ;-)

Oven Ready

Bitter Sweet

Madcap Cupcake

Life After Gluten

NOW you're drooling, right?!!!

Baking Class Project - Plated Dessert

2008-12-20T10:37:00.001-08:00

The big project for our last baking class of the semester was to produce a plated dessert.

Requirements: a main dessert component, two sauces, a produced garnish, and any number of additional garnishes (such as fruit). Taste was important, as were technique and plate set up.

For our presentation, we had to plate up four of our dessert in front of everyone. Chef said it was a good lesson in working under pressure. RIGHT!

Here is a photo montage of some of the produced desserts.

By AmberRose:

By Rami:

By Grace:

By Natalie:

By Ali:

By Amanda:

Petits Fours, Anyone?

2008-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

I can remember, as a child, being offered a petits fours -- one of those fondant-coated nibbles of cake made to be eaten in one or two bites.

I put the entire square in my mouth because the icing looked so yummy ... and then proceeded to spit the entire mouthful right back out because I found the taste -- and smell -- of marzipan (almond paste) to be revolting. Right up there with mushrooms and green peas! And Beef Stroganoff. Gag me.

So I was not overly enthusiastic when Chef told me to make a tray of petits fours in baking class.

That is, until I took a tentative bite of my finished product and found -- to my amazement! -- that I now find marizpan quite delectable! (Mushrooms and green peas are okay now, too.)

However, I will probably never make petits fours again -- unless I'm forced to. Because I HATE working with fondant!!! (Look, Ma, my baking classes did teach me something important!)

Too, the little treats are labor intensive. Because before you FINALLY get to the fondant stage, you must bake up three half-sheet pans of cake (choose a firm, close-grained cake), which you then spread with a THIN layer of flavoring (such as raspberry preserves). To the top layer of your tower of cake, you then finish up with a thin layer of marzipan.

(Yes, making the marzipan by blending almond paste with corn syrup and powdered sugar in an electric mixer adds yet another step!)

After the cake layers are assembled, you will need to wrap the cake, right on the sheet pan, in plastic and put it in the freezer to firm up. Doing so allows you to easily and neatly cut the cake into strips, and then into small squares or diamonds, as pictured below. Or you can use a cookie cutter to make circles, though you'll end up wasting a good bit of cake.

Now comes the part I hate: messing with the fondant. ;-(

In class, we get fondant in big, white blocks. Which means that it's super fresh and soft when first opened, but quickly turns hard after students get lazy about closing its protective plastic bag. So yeah, I was hacking away at the hard block, trying to free enough to coat my little nibbles.

Chef, ever watchful of an opportunity to slip in a lesson on profit and loss, pronounced the fondant "still good" and that it just needed to be "briefly rehydrated" by soaking it in a bowl of warm water, as shown below.

As the photo clearly shows, fondant (which is technically defined as "icing made from boiled sugar syrup that is agitated so that it crystalizes into a mass of teeny, tiny white crystals") is thick stuff. Which is why you must warm it over a double broiler (we use stainless steel bowls placed atop pots of steaming water), adding water to thin it to the consistency you need.

Chef has us use our hand, rather than a spatula, when warming fondant, so that we can easily test the warmth and thickness. Tip: When the fondant thinly streams down your gloved fingertips, it's ready.

If the fondant is not thin enough (which it is NOT in the photo above!), you won't be able to easily pour it over the top and down the sides of each petits fours.

In the next photo, Chef demos (the dude LOVES to demo stuff, God love him!) how to use a ladle to apply the fondant. Hurry, hurry, the fondant is cooling!!

Notice that Chef has placed the petits fours on a cooling rack positioned atop a sheet pan. And that he didn't line the sheet pan with parchment paper. Can you figure out why?

If you guessed it's because you reuse the fondant that pools on the tray, get yourself a cookie. (If you added parchment paper, you'd just make a big mess trying to scrape it off the paper.)

I guess if your bakery is lax about expenses, you could just toss the pooled fondant. But for the rest of us Joe Blow Bakers watching the bottom line, it's time to pull out our trusty offset spatulas and get to scraping. ;-)

The recycled fondant can be reheated again .... and again .... and again(!) until all of your petits fours are coated. Just remember that each time you warm the fondant, you will probably need to thin it with water.

We're almost done, folks! Stay with me! ;-)

After the fondant has set up, use a paring knife or offset spatula to carefully lift the petits fours from the sugary rack and onto decorative paper cups. Add a bit of melted chocolate (via a small piping bag made from parchment paper) to the top of each one, and you end up with a darn attractive little nibble to share -- or eat yourself.

JUST DON'T EAT TOO MANY, OR PAY THE CONSEQUENCES!!! (Yes, Junior, there really is such a thing as a fondant high!)

Bonus quiz question: what does "petits four" mean in French?

a. "tiny potato"

b. "small oven"

c. "enough for the masses"

---ready?

----THE ANSWER IS:

b. "small oven."

Get it right? GO GET YOURSELF ANOTHER COOKIE! ;-)

Class Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

Yeah, baby, my camera is fixed!

So here's a visual treat: a sampling of the gingerbread houses created by students in my baking class. Just so you know, the class assignment proved two things. One: that I have next to no artistic skill. And two: some of the peeps in my class are so creative it's sickening.

((I've been trying to figure out why God didn't grace me with more artistic talent. Here's what I've decided: Back when God made me, He asked, "Who wants to make art?" Unfortunately, I heard "Who wants to fart?" and I cried, "Not me! No way!"))

But I digress.....

First up: Christmas Hawaii-style by Amber Rose.

Love it! All that's missing is an accompanying recording of Elvis crooning about being blue at Christmas. ;-)

Some close up shots of Amber's detail work:

Next up: the masterpiece by Rami, based on The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Rami's handwork is exceptional. Everyone was in awe of her natural skill and passion. (Rami was overheard to say, "I would love to sit and do this aaaallllll day!!!!")

Some close up shots. Notice the back of her house: Rami electrified it!!

And here is my friend Ali's sweet little country house.

I can totally picture her living here -- surrounded by her organic gardens. ;-)

And here is Amanda's impressive municipal building.

And Jordan's yummy "mint" house.

I soooo wanted to lick this one! (Maybe I did!)

And Grace's (aka "Star Girl") impish elf house.

There's a ton of interior detailing, including furniture.

(Yup, that's what makes Gracie a true "Star Girl"!)

And finally, my little house.

The only thing spectacular about my house is the roof (which I made from colored marzipan and white gum paste). My gnome (also made from marzipan), is pretty darn cute, too, but I didn't use him because someone broke off his arm and leg. BY ACCIDENT, I AM SO SURE! HA!

**Chef entered the houses created by Grace, Rami, and Ali into the gingerbread competition/auction at Gilda's House of Western New York. Grace took THIRD PLACE in the Student category! I wonder how much moolah her house will bring in for Gilda's!

Check Out These Creative Cakes!

2008-11-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

These gorgeous, creative photos are from a blog called Confetti Cakes.

Pastry chef Elisa Strauss's first book, The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery, was released in Spring 2007 and is in its fourth printing. Her second book, Confetti Cakes for Kids, just came out this fall.

Yup, this gal takes the cake!!

p.s. Here's an interesting interview with Elisa that was posted on Pastryscoop.com

Drool Over This, Baby! (Culinary Olympics Photos)

2008-11-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

BEAUTIFUL!

Photographed at the IKA International Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.

Uploaded to Flickr in August 2007 by Purpletwinkie

Blogging Inspiration

2008-11-11T23:49:00.001-08:00

I just ran across a blog posting by a fellow Buffalo blogger. She paid me the highest compliment possible: she was so inspired by photos of the bagels I made (see my Sunday, October 19 post titled "My Bagels Rocked!"), that she decided to whip up a batch of her own. Hers look incredibly yummy!

Check out her cool blog. Her posting about bagels is on Thursday, November 6: Football Food Face-Off Week 9.

The blogging community is so great!

I'm in Love with Creme Brulee!!

2008-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

And no, I'm not happy about it.

BECAUSE CREME BRULEE IS FATTENING!!!

And it's so easy to make, from only five ingredients, that I doubt I'll find the willpower to not whip up a batch every week or two!!!!

Creme Brulee is an example of a baked custard. A custard is a liquid thickened or set by the coagulation of egg proteins. Basically, you mix eggs yolks and granulated sugar until well combined. Then, after gradually stirring in heated heavy cream, you toss in a bit of vanilla and salt. Voila! Your custard mixture is ready to be poured into porcelain ramekins or gratin dishes.

Here, I've chosen gratin dishes, because I like the way they look. But if you just want a taste (and fewer calories), go with small ramekins.

You might notice that I've placed a towel under the gratin dishes. I tried this method, per my baking book, but decided I didn't like it. For two reasons: the towel made the bottom of the hotel pan uneven, and the towel absorbed a lot of water, which made the pan heavier, and thus harder to maneuver.

The whole point of the towel is to insulate the bottoms of the gratin dishes from the heat of the oven. An easier way to do this is to double-pan: place a second hotel pan inside the first.

Also, notice that I'm using a plastic beverage pitcher to pour the hot mixture into the individual dishes. The plastic doesn't conduct heat, which keeps my hand safe from getting burned, while the spout makes a simple and controlled task of the pouring.

Here's a better picture of the towel. The next step is to fill the pan with hot water, to create a water bath. You do this so the edges don't overcook before the middle has time to set. I used water from the hot water dispenser in the kitchen next door. It's kept hot enough for hot tea. Using a plastic pitcher is a good idea here, too, as you don't have to struggle with oven gloves, which you'd need with a metal pitcher.

Tip: don't add the hot water to the pan until you've placed the hotel pan on the oven shelf. If you pour the water in before you carry the pan to the oven, you might trip and burn yourself.

The custards bake at 325 degrees, until set. TIP: don't let the custards get higher than 185 degrees. Or they might curdle. Overbaked custards turn watery when the moisture in them separates from the toughened egg proteins. Use your thermometer to pull the creme brulees from the oven when they're at 180 degrees. The centers may not be completely set; don't worry, they'll continue to cook after being removed from the oven.

Remove the ramekins or gratin dishes from the water bath and let them cool on a rack. Once cool, refrigerate. When ready to serve, sprinkle the tops liberally with white or brown sugar. Caramelize the sugar using a broiler or hand-held torch. Serve within an hour, before the sugar tops soften. Note: if you don't add the sugar, the creme brulees will happily last in your fridge for over a week.

YUM!!!!

GGRRRRRR! Bear Claws!

2008-11-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's right, people: I made these awesome-looking bear claws!!

"How?" you ask. "What are the steps to baking up my own?"

1) Whip up a batch of Danish dough. Don't forget that you'll need to fold in a butter insert, and complete a total of three 3-folds. As you need to allow the dough to rest 30 minutes between each 3-fold, make sure you set aside about two hours for making the dough. The 30-minute rest/cooling period between the 3-turns is crucial: it re-chills the butter and gives the gluten in the dough time to relax. Also important: brush any excess flour off of the dough, with a brush, as you fold the dough. Extra flour on the surface can interfere with the dough rising.

I use a small mixer to mix up my dough, but this video, in which the instructor mixes the dough by hand, shows one way of rolling out the dough and adding the butter insert. Note: This instructor also adds one 4-fold, which I don't do. I use 4-folds when making puff pastry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg-zXn_YpLI

2) After the last resting, roll out the dough and fill the bear claws with your choice of filling: cinnamon/sugar/raisins, perhaps, or chocolate, or maybe you're a big fan of almond paste. Or maybe you can't get enough of maple syrup??

3) Here I chose to go with the cinnamon/sugar/raisin combo. Be generous with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

4) After rolling the dough into a long log, I scaled out 4-oz portions. As you can see from the photo, that makes a hefty claw. A bench scraper is a handy tool to have for cutting through the dough; so much easier than a knife! By pressing down firmly on the bench scraper, you get cleanly cut edges.

5) Don't forget to cut the "toes" into the claws, then spread the toes out a bit to produce the traditional bear claw shape.

6) Proof the shaped dough, in a proof box or warm place in your kitchen, directly on your parchment paper-lined baking sheet. The heat will plump up the bear claws nicely. Then egg wash the tops with a brush (egg wash is made simply by combining a beaten whole egg with water or milk) so that the tops brown.

7) When the claws are cooled, drizzle a glaze on the tops. Here I've added a chocolate glaze (I used fondant, which I flavored with chocolate) over the tops with a wire whisk. Note: this is a clean sheet of parchment paper. The paper that was under the bear claws for baking got quite "littered" with chocolate during the icing. Always place the finished product on display trays or new paper, so they look nice. And don't forget: New York law requires the use of gloves when handling ready-to-serve food items!

**some things I love: parchment paper and throw-away latex gloves!

Oooh! This Sounds Just Too Delish!

2008-11-04T07:02:00.001-08:00

I've just stumbled upon an exciting new group of bloggers that call themselves "THE DARING BLOGGERS."

What's so exciting about them? THEY BAKE!!! In fact, their motto is "WE KNEAD TO BAKE!" HAHAAA!

Now that I've joined the group, so that I can participate in their monthly baking challenge, I get to call myself a "daring baker" too!!!! DELISH!

This rather secretive group collectively dials in for the monthly challenge, which they then individually complete. After taking lots of notes and photos, they collectively post their experiences on their individual food blogs, usually on the last day of the month.

The blogs are listed on the Daring Bloggers site (http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com), which makes it easy to scroll through everyone's posts. Talk about a great learning opportunity!

Here are just a few of the daring baker member blogs: WARNING!!!! YOU WILL DROOL. A LOT!!

*http://creampuffsinvenice.ca/2006/11/19/the-month-of-bread-perfect-pretzels
*http://llcskitchen.blogspot.com
*http://101dalmatiancats.blogspot.com
*http://awhiskandaspoon.wordpress.com

I get to participate in the December challenge. Alas, I missed the November challenge, as you must join the group by the first of the month to get in on that month's challenge.

Hey! You should join up in time for the December challenge, too!! Come on, you KNOW you're a daring baker at heart!

I accept the challenge!

Chocolate Cake Bombes

2008-10-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in baking class my new baking partner, Grace, and I got fancy in the kitchen. We whipped up chocolate cake bombes.

Here's the first stage of production: cutting round circles from thin slices of chocolate cake, then pressing the circles into the mold forms:

After the cake base, the bombes are filled with piped mousse.

Then a second chocolate cake circle, this one smaller than the bottom layer, is pressed onto the mousse. After a lengthy chill in the fridge, the bombes are ready to be flipped over and covered with chocolate ganache.

Grace removes the bombes from their flexible rubber molds:

Here we place the bombes on a wire rack we set atop a parchment-lined sheet pan, so we can catch and reuse the ganache that flows from the bombes:

Here Chef demonstrates one technique for applying the chocolate ganache:

Grace finishes up the job and we pop the bombes back in the fridge until they can be sold in the Statler dining room on Monday. (They better save us one!!!)

My Bagels Rocked!

2008-10-19T10:33:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to whip up a batch of bagels for several weeks now. This weekend I finally got around to it. YUM!

A good bagel is hard to find -- most lack that wonderful chewiness that only a boiled bagel produces. So I'm happy to report that my batch were nice and chewy AND they toasted up wonderfully. There's something about a bagel slathered in melted butter to make your day perk up. Even better, the hubby paid me the highest compliment: he ate THREE that day (quite a gift, as he tends to avoid carbs like the plague! HA!).

Anyhoo, from the recipe in Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, here are the steps I used to make my bagels:

Day One
Because Reinhart is a big fan of extended retarding in the fridge, this recipe takes two days. The first step, obviously, is making the sponge. So I mixed 4 cups high-gluten flour, 1 tsp. yeast, and 2.5 cups of water together, then let that ferment on the counter for a while. Reinhart says the sponge needs 2 hours to get "foamy and bubbly," but my batch took almost 4 hours.

When the sponge was finally ready to use, I added another 1.5 tsp. yeast to it, then another 3 cups of flour and 2.75 tsp. salt. I tried using my mixer to incorporate the flour, but the dough became so stiff that I eventually had to take it out and finish mixing it by hand. Once I got the rest of the dry flour mixed in, I kneaded the stiff dough on the counter for 10 minutes, until the dough was, as Reinhart says, "satiny and pliable but not tacky."

Then I quickly divided the dough into 4.5-oz pieces, using my digital scale. Note: The bagels turned out quite large, so in the future I would reduce this to 3.5-oz pieces.

Now the real fun began! I rolled the scaled dough out into tubes. I covered them with damp paper towels and let them rest for 20 minutes on the counter. While they rested, I lined 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly misted the paper with cooking spray.

After the dough strips rested, I rolled them out a bit more, then wrapped each strip around my hand, overlapping the dough by several inches. I sealed the edges by pressing the overlapped area onto the counter as I rocked my hand back and forth.

After shaping each bagel, I placed it on the prepared baking sheet. When all the bagels were shaped, I misted them with cooking oil, wrapped them loosely in plastic wrap and let them rest another 20 minutes. (There's a lot of napping in baking!)

To see if the bagels were ready for their overnight retarding in the fridge, I put one to the "float test." Reinhart says the dough must float within 10 seconds or it needs more nap-time. My bagel floated right away, so I put both pans in the fridge.

Day Two
After my 5-hour baking class, I came home tired, but hungry. So I decided to get to those bagels. I cranked the oven up to 500 degrees, and set a large pot of water to boil, adding baking soda to the water. Here are my plump, retarded bagels about to take their dip in the hot tub. ;-)

I boiled the bagels about two minutes on each side, then placed them back on their pans. While they boiled, I sprinkled the pans with cornmeal, to make sure they didn't stick during baking. After taking each out of their bath boil, I topped the bagels with sea salt and seeds.

Here are my finished bagels. They only take about 10 minutes to bake!

A Few Tips

2008-10-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

This posting is a compilation of tips I've recently learned in class.

Need to soften up your butter fast? Then do what I did here. Chop refrigerated butter into small blocks, then put it near a heat source, such as the top of an oven. Do NOT, however, put it near a pilot light. It will melt before you realize it.

Want to make sure your tarts hold up, i.e. don't get soggy? Then brush the tarts with melted chocolate BEFORE you add your pastry cream or other fillings.

Want to make sure your cheesecakes bake up without cracked tops? Then bake them in a water bath. You can cook the cheesecakes on one rack, while placing the pan of water on another. Or you can bake the cheesecakes directly in the water.

My instructor prefers the latter, because he believes the cheesecakes cook most evenly this way. Just don't forget one crucial step: cradling the pans in foil -- to make sure the water doesn't creep into the springform pan.

Profit & Loss

2008-10-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today my baking partner, Amanda, and I made Italian bread. Here is a photo of the proofed, shaped loaves:

And here's a photo of our baked product:

But here's the photo I really want you to focus on:

No, I'm not showing off Chef's choice of kitchen footwear.

What you're looking at is LOSS. This photo represents a 2-ounce portion of dough -- or what would have become a baked soft roll, if I hadn't dropped it on the floor.

Seeing me do so (drat!), Chef quickly cried out, "THERE GOES YOUR PROFIT!"

(And then he patiently stood there while I snapped a photo. HA!)

Fabulous Fourteen

2008-10-07T16:52:00.001-07:00

One of the tasks a newbie baker must master is portioning a round cake into even slices. It's a no-brainer if you're talking 4, 8, 12 or even 16 pieces, because basically you're dividing the four initial quarters into thinner, even wedges.

But portioning 14 *equal* slices takes practice. In the photo below, my classmate Alyssa has marked 14 slices on the top of her buttercream-iced yellow cake by pressing the large knife shown on the counter into the icing. The lines serve to guide wait staff during plating. Alyssa is adding rosettes both for decoration and to clearly identify the fourteen servings.

This photo, of the top of Alyssa's cake, more clearly shows the fourteen slices. Alyssa's done a fabulous job here. Good thing, because she, along with the rest of our class, is being tested on the skill during Saturday's class!

Let's show off a bit more of Alyssa's decorating job before I tell you the trick for getting 14 *equal* slices from a round cake. Notice that Alyssa has decorated the outside edge of her cake with coconut, and the top of the rosettes with lemon-flavored pastry filling.

So, how do you get 14 portions? Obviously by getting seven slices from each half of the cake. Go on. Try it!

Having trouble? Here's the key:

Hold the knife above the cake so that it's perfectly vertical. Then, angle the knife a bit to the left of this imaginary vertical line, before lowering the knife into the icing. This line marks one side of the seventh slice. Raise the knife from the icing and angle it a bit to the right of the vertical line. You've now marked both sides of the seventh piece. This requires good visualization skills! Portioning out the remaining six pieces per half is easy; you simply divide the remaining spaces into three wedges.

Fighting Off The Fog

2008-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ugh-oh. Today my brain fogged up in hospitality math class. NOT a good sign.

I'll let the meat purchasing and costing problem on our class handout speak for itself:

A 15 1b. 11 oz. pork loin is purchased at $1.37 per lb. If 2 lbs. 4 oz. is removed by boning before cooking, 18 percent of the weight is lost due to roasting and another 9 oz. is lost in trimming and portioning, how much does a 6 oz. portion cost??

Yeah, I had to fight the temptation to yell out, "WHO CARES? LET THEM EAT CAKE!"

But after I fought off the panic, and cleared away the fog, here's my best guess on how to solve this multi-part problem. I'm guessing there's a 80 percent chance I've got it right. Anyone wanna take a bet on those odds? ;-)

My steps for solving this sucker:

1) let's take care of the math parts that are easy. 15 lb. 11 oz. minus the 2 lb. 4 oz. lost in boning equals 13 lb. 7 oz.

2) let's get that deboned, uncooked weight down to just ounces. We do that by dividing the 7 oz. by 16 (because there are 16 ounces in a pound), add the 13 lb. and multiply by 16 (to turn those pounds into ounces) to get a final oz. amount of 215 oz.

3) next, let's get rid of that 18 percent loss after roasting. 215 oz. minus 18 percent gives us our cooked weight of 176.3 oz.

4) now let's minus the 9 oz. lost in trimming and portioning. 176.3 oz. minus 9 oz. equals 167.3 oz. (let's double check that this number is smaller than our original pork loin of 15 lb. 11 oz. Dividing our total 167.3 oz. again by 16 to turn them into pounds, we get a total cooked pound rate of 10.45625 lb. (or 10 lb. 7.3 oz.). So far, we've lost 5 lb. 3.7 oz. from our original loin.)

5) it looks like we're on track, so let's get to figuring out how much a 6 oz. portion costs. 167.3 oz divided by 6 oz. tells us that we can get 27.883333 portions out of our cooked loin. But in portioning, you always round down, as you can't serve up that .883333 portion. So we end up with just 27 portions.

6) to find the cost of a 6 oz. portion, we need to know how much we spent on our original 15 lb. 11 oz. loin. We're told we spent $1.37 per lb. So let's turn the 15 lb. 11 oz. into a decimal, so that our terms match. We do this by carrying the 15 lb. and multiplying the ounces by 16 to get 15.6875 lb. So, 15.6875 multiplied by $1.37 per lb. equals $21.50 for our original loin purchase.

7) we FINALLY get to that 6 oz. portion cost by dividing the total cost by the number of portions. So, $21.50 divided by 27 portions equals $0.7962962 per portion, or $0.796, as we typically carry the number to the third place.

Whew! Any chef, restaurant owner, or baker that can pound these types of calculations out quickly has my utmost respect!!

Onward and upward. ;-)

Home-Made Bread - YUM!

2008-10-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today I made my first bread dough from Peter Reinhart's luscious book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. The recipe is called "Pain a l'Ancienne, which follows a delayed-fermentation method that depends on really cold water. Basically, you mix up the dough in about 15 minutes, then pop it in the fridge overnight. The next day you let it warm up at room temp for about three hours, so it can continue fermenting.

After cutting the dough in half, you cut each half into 3 pieces, forming six baguettes. To bake, you pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes (or until internal temp registers at least 205 degrees).

The first batch I made by adding steam to the oven. But my kitchen smoke detector kept going off (which I'm sure thrilled my neighbors), so the second batch I made without adding steam. I don't think it made much difference in either appearance or taste.

The crust was nicely carmelized, but the bread didn't have as strong a flavor as I'd hoped, considering the recipe says the dough has a "natural sweetness" and "nutlike character." I plan to add some fresh herbs the next time I make it, and perhaps a sprinkle of sea salt to the tops.

But as this bread was so incredibly easy to make, and looked pretty enough to take to a dinner party, I definitely give it a thumbs-up.

Here are the pics:

Let's Make Tarts!

2008-10-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today in baking class my baking partner, Amanda, and I made mini tarts. Hmmm, we wondered, what was the quickest, most efficient way to put the rolled dough into the mini pans? Here's what we came up with:

It's Time To Get Serious

2008-10-03T17:42:00.001-07:00

Professionalism requires commitment and strength of character.

I see a lot of unprofessionalism in my classroom environment, which surprises me. I mean, I figure if persons are in school, they have a desire to make something of their lives.

So when I see goofing off, cheating, slacking, and apathy, I don't get it. And I get downright annoyed at today's young crowd displaying such a well-defined sense of entitlement. As far as I can tell, they haven't earned it. Me thinks the hubby is right: Every kid in America should be required to serve a stint in the Peace Corps or the military, to develop discipline and gratefulness for just how good they have it.

With the possibility of my own bake shop looming ahead of me, I'm starting to get worried that I'll find employees who can meet my standards. Out of my classmates, there are only two that I'd currently hire. Hmmm....maybe I'll end up a modern-day Sweeney Todd: to rid myself of bad employees, I'll serve them up. ;-)

Anyway, here's my definition of the word "professional":

P = prepared -- you put in the prep time so you're prepared for class

R = ready to work -- you "hit the ground running," leaving excuses at the door

O = on time -- you're punctual and deadline-driven

F = focused -- you save the gossip and water-cooler chatter for your private hours

E = excited -- you choose to be happy to be here, knowing that you're helping to set the tone of the environment

S = strong -- you're dependable, honest, and know what you stand for and believe in

S = standards -- you set the highest possible standards for yourself, even if no one around you gives a damn

I = intuition -- you use your brain, not routinely wait passively for direction

O = open to instruction -- you accept constructive feedback, knowing it's key to personal growth

N = noble -- you bring a high moral character to every situation, so you don't slip at temptation

A = adaptable -- you "roll with the punches" without having a cow

L = look for opportunities to help others. Because we're all in this together, right?

Math Makes Sense Again!

2008-10-01T13:07:00.001-07:00

I'll admit it. Somewhere around the eighth grade I lost my math mojo.

I was fine through algebra. But the minute I hit geometry, I mentally slammed into a wall. Hard. Because I never "got" how to solve the formulas, not a single cotton-pickin' one.

So I became afraid of math, avoiding it like the plague. Even when it came to something as simple as converting feet into inches. I left those calculations up to my genius hubby, who whizzed through college trig and calculus.

When I enrolled in the ECC baking program this fall, it never dawned on me that I would need math. Yet we use math every day!

In the kitchen we need it for scaling (measuring) ingredients. And in hospitality math class we're learning to use math to figure out nifty things like how much broccoli we need to order for a party of 500, when comparing EP to AP. (EP means "edible portion" or what is left of a fresh produce item after loss from trimming; AP means "as purchased.")

Too, we're learning how to figure out equations like this:

<<A 2-1/4 oz. portion of peas is to be served to each of 95 people. If each bag of frozen peas weighs 5 lb., how many bags are needed?>>

Answer:

1) 2-1/4 = 2.25 oz. x 95 portions = 213.75 total oz needed

2) ounces to pounds divide by 16 so 213.75 oz. = 13.359375 lb.

3) 13.359375 lb. divided by the 5 lb. bag = 2.671875 lb. needed

4) we round up in ordering, so we need to order 3 bags

Cool, huh?!

So far I have perfect scores on my math quizzes. Here's hoping I don't slam into another mental wall!

(Alison -- THANKS for sitting next to me in class! You're a great study partner!!!)

It's All in the Garnishes

2008-09-28T15:27:00.001-07:00

Here are our cutsie sweet nibbles in their garnished, presentation form.

Workin' the Assembly Line

2008-09-25T14:50:00.001-07:00

So, the College is hosting several events this weekend to welcome the new president on board. Of course, where there are people, there must be food (so they will willingly sit through long-winded speeches). HA!

That's where my classmates and I come in.

This week we've been the bakery production crew, makin' and a bakin' the cookies, pastries, and cutsie sweet nibbles that will (hopefully!) be enjoyed by all who attend the public and invitation-only VIP festivities.

Here is just one of the cutsie nibbles: Red Velvet Trifle (red velvet cake, custard, whip cream, and Grand Marnier).

Can I get a drum roll, puhhleeaase?!

Also on our to-do list are Creme Brulee, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Mousse Cordial, Margarita Mousse Parfait with Lime Sugar Rim, Chocolate Lava Souffle, and Tiramisou with Fresh Raspberries.

We have a lot still to do, including all of the garnishes. It's going to be busy this Saturday, when our class meets up in the kitchen bright and early!

It's All in the Four-Fold for Puff Pastry

2008-09-22T14:21:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, my baking partner, Amanda, and I made a puff pastry dough. It's a bit labor intensive, so I'll break down the steps.

1) First you make the dough. You do this by combining bread flour and cake flour with butter and salt that has been dissolved in cold water. For mixing, we used the small KitchenAid mixer that you probably have at home. After developing a nice, smooth dough -- without overmixing, as that develops too much gluten -- we plopped the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and shaped it into a rectangle with our hands. We then covered it with plastic wrap and let it chill out in the cooler for about 20 minutes.

2) As it chilled (to relax the gluten) we prepared the butter. We blended it in the mixer with a bit more of the combined flours, to both soften the butter and absorb excess moisture. We shaped it into a rectangle and slipped it into the cooler just until we'd rolled out our dough. Then we flipped the butter over onto the dough, as shown.

At this point, it would be hard for an onlooker to tell if we were making Danish pastry or puff pastry, since both include a butter roll-in -- unless he or she had a good nose. Danish pastry is made with yeast, puff pastry is not. And Danish layers are made with three-folds, while puff pastry layers are created with four-folds.

Imagine it this way: for a three-fold, a rectangular-shaped dough is visually divided into thirds, by two imaginary dotted lines. The top edge of the dough is folded down at the line marking the top third. Then the bottom edge is folded up at the other marker, overlapping the first fold. So the number of layers in the dough triple with each three-fold.

For a four-fold, imagine that you have three dotted lines running the width of your dough. You fold the top edge down as for the three-fold, so that the edge meets the middle dotted line, or middle of the dough. The bottom edge is then folded up so that its edge meets the middle line as well. Then you fold the top half over onto the bottom half. The butter and dough layers are quadrupled with each four-fold.

3) So, after "locking-in" the butter with the four-fold, here's how our dough shaped up.

4) After letting the dough chill out for 30 minutes in the cooler, we then rolled it out, and gave the dough another four-fold. We repeated this step two more times, letting the dough chill for 30 minutes between each roll. After a final 30 minute chill, the dough was ready for use. Here's a photo of Amanda rolling out the dough.

* Just a note about flours, since I mentioned that we used cake and bread flour. Bread flour provides good quality gluten, while cake flour is a weak, low-gluten flour made from soft wheat. Cake flour is used primarily for cakes and delicate baked goods, while bread flour is usually used to make yeast breads. High-gluten flour is typically used for hard-crusted breads and in specialty products like pizza dough and bagels.

FAT TOM

2008-09-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Soooooo.....

If I wasn't enough of a germaphobe before, I am now. Because now I have to worry about pathogens (pesky, uber-tiny microorganisms) that cause foodborne illnesses.

I'm talking viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi, people!

Which is where FAT TOM comes in. This acronym has nothing to do with a guy with a hefty appetite, and everything to do with conditions that fuel pathogen growth.

FAT TOM stands for Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen, and Moisture.

Pathogens like to gobble up carbs and proteins, like we do. Too, they really like foods that contains little or no acid, and they simply adore hanging out between 41 and 135 degrees (known as the Temperature Danger Zone or TDZ). Give the little creeps four or more hours at TDZ, and they grow to a level high enough to wreck havoc on someone's intestines, stomach, or kidneys.

As my instructor says, "This food will ruin your day."

Oxygen -- or lack of it, in some cases -- jump starts the pathogens as well, as does moisture. Can you say, "BOTULISM"?! (Without treatment, you can kiss your life goodbye.)

The following list of foods have the right FAT TOM conditions that pathogens need to grow:

*milk and dairy products

*untreated garlic-and-oil mixtures (like the kind your cousin made you for Christmas!)

*sprouts

*heat-treated plant food, including beans and rice

*baked potatoes

*fish

*beef, pork and lamb (in other words, all the MEATS I frequently digest)

*poultry

*eggs

*shellfish

*sliced melons/cut tomatoes

*tofu and textured soy protein

Lovely. So not only do I get to wonder if kitchen staffs are washing their hands after they pick their noses. I also get to imagine them leaving the chicken on the counter for six hours to thaw, not cooking foods at high enough temps to kill microorganisms, and cross-contaminating raw fruits and veggies before placing them in my salad. ;-(

Icing A Cake - My First Attempt

2008-09-18T15:59:00.001-07:00

Hmmmm.....I knew icing a cake wasn't going to be as easy as Chef made it look!

Steps to icing a cake:

1) place cake on a cardboard base

2) use a serrated knife to shave off any browned cake, so that the surface is all the same color and flat

3) cut cake in half, so that you can add filling between the layers

4) ice with a base coat

5) finish with a heavy coat, which you make as flat and smooth as possible

6) cover up your flaws with coconut! HA!

7) put cakes in the cooler so icing will harden

Tools you need:

*icing comb - a small, inexpensive plastic or metal tool, usually triangular in shape. The serrated edges can be used to even out icing or add decorative texture.

*straight spatula - also called a palette knife, this long flexible blade has a rounded tip. Size needed depends on size of cake.

*offset spatula - the angled blade allows you to get under a cake and lift it.

*cake cardboard base - don't forget this step, or you'll have difficulty removing the cake from the turntable once it's iced! The cardboard gives the cake a sturdy base.

*turntable - a round, flat disk that swivels freely on a pedestal base. Available in plastic and heavy-duty metal, the latter of which is obviously more expensive. My tip: buy the best you can so it lasts longer.

*baking sheet lined with parchment paper - use to transport cake to the cooler. Parchment paper is a handy tool for minimizing dirty pans and clean up. It's also great to use when baking cookies.

Icing A Cake - Chef's Demo

2008-09-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, today my baking partner, Amanda, and I got to try our hand at icing cakes. We tried using the buttercream icing we made the other day, but it was too soft. Yeah, icing made with lots of butter and shortening has trouble staying sturdy in 90-degree kitchens. ;-)

So Chef had us remake the icing, this time leaving out the 2 cups of heavy cream. It was still soft, but at least it was spreadable.

Then Chef demonstrated how to ice the yellow cake. He chose to add a layer of raspberry filling, which always goes under the buttercream layer, because it's heavier.

The man's a whiz at getting the icing to spread completely flat and smooth. He should be; he's made hundreds of wedding cakes during his career!

Less Than Stellar With Red Velvet

2008-09-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

So, to be frank, today's kitchen experience SUCKED. All five hours of it.

All my baking partner, Amanda, and I had to do was whip up a red velvet cake batter, a yellow cake batter (using liquid shortening. Ewwwwww!), and a big bowl of buttercream icing (3 lbs. butter! 3 lbs. shortening! 7 lbs. powdered sugar! 2 c. heavy cream!).

We ran into problems from the get-go:

1) There was no buttermilk for the red velvet cake batter .... so we substituted heavy cream, per Chef's directive.

2) The three 10" pans of red velvet cake baked lopsided.

3) That damn gooey red food coloring made cleanup a royal PAIN!!! (I even had to soak my chef coat in dishwasher machine detergent when I got home.)

4) Chef told us that we used the wrong mixer for the yellow cake batter (I'm still foggy as to why one mattered over the other - but I better get that fact straight ASAP, as we're to make another batch of batter on Thursday!).

5) The two 10" pans of yellow cake also baked lopsided as well. (Note to self: double check that oven shelves are level!)

Hmmm....perhaps the sloping surfaces were simply mirroring our frazzled nerves??

Turf skirmishes over available ovens and equipment, between the second-year culinary students and us lowly first-semester baking students, took all the fun right out of the day.

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG, PEOPLE? ;-)

Yeah, baby, yeah.

Success With Danish!

2008-09-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

My partner, Amanda, and I had a successful day in the kitchen. We made Danishes and two apple crumb pies. In the first two photos, Amanda is adding softened butter to two-thirds of our rolled out dough, so that we can fold it inside the dough. Danishes are made from "laminated" (high fat!) yeast dough that has been rolled out and folded ("turned") three times.

After we cut our finished dough into two-ounce strips, Chef Songin showed us how to twist and twirl the strips into their final shape for proofing and baking.

After the Danish were cool, Chef showed our class how to drizzle flat white icing over the tops. Chef's preference is fondant, because it stays shiny and doesn't flake off, but none could be found in the storeroom.

The finished product were de-lish!

Must Haves for Artisan Breads

2008-09-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

So, according to all the research I've been doing, I'm all set to make my first loaf of artisan bread. Why? Because I've collected the following *must have* items and my excitement is well proofed!

Must haves:

*mixing bowls

*baking parchment paper

*bread flour (I purchased high-gluten flour from St. Honore bakery in Portland, OR)

*rubber spatula

*spray oil

*instant-read (probe) thermometer

*scaled (measured) ingredients (thus, a digital scale, accurate to .25 ounce, is a MUST!)

*sheet pans

*metal pastry scraper

*instant yeast (SAF-Instant comes highly recommended)

*proofing couche (thick cloth that helps loaves to keep shape)

*lame (scoring blade for top of loaves)

*baking stone

*metal peel

*copy of The Bread Baker's Apprentice

Let's see....what else?

BUTTER! Lots and lots of butter! And maybe a nice soup. ;-)

Sanitation Is An Eye-Opener

2008-09-10T16:41:00.001-07:00

So, along with my kitchen hours, I'm taking a class titled "Sanitation." As you might expect, the goal of the course is to get readers to set high food safety standards, whether they're employees in a fast-food chain, future bakers like myself, or managers of five-star restaurants.

We're only a week into the course, but already I'm disgusted. Yes, by those pesky microorganisms that cause food borne illnesses. But mostly by the examples of personal hygiene no-nos that lead to cross-contamination.

Can you say "Keep Your Feces to Yourself!"?

Just one example: in a video snippet, we watched a waiter slip his hand inside his pants to scratch himself. He then resumed filling glasses with ice at the soda machine. Ewwwww!

But there are also the people who pick/blow their nose, scratch their zits, or run their fingers through their hair.

I didn't realize just how much the info is seeping into my personal kitchen practices -- until tonight, when I licked my finger after cutting fresh peaches. Instinctively I froze, my finger still in my mouth. At my expression, my husband bust out laughing.

"Don't worry," he said, wickedly. "I won't tell anyone!"

Yeah, right.

I bet he's installed a hidden camera in our kitchen, so he can upload "SHERI'S SANITATION NO-NOS!!" on YouTube.

Another Book to Recommend - How to Break an Egg

2008-09-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

This hefty volume, subtitled "1,453 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, Emergency Substitutions, and Handy Techniques" is worth the read, especially if you feel like a total twit in the kitchen. ;-)

I highly recommend a thorough review of two sections in the back: "Handy Kitchen Techniques" (complete with glossy photos) and "When Things Go Wrong, Substitutions, and Equivalents."

In the first, I learned how to quickly core and slice an apple. (I previously wasted a lot of time slicing the apple directly through its center, then gouging out the core.) And I learned how to cut segments from an orange without mangling it into a big, wet mess.

In the second, I found the "Bad Bread Blues," "Pie Pitfalls and Tart Tribulations," and "Cookie Chaos" sections particularly helpful.

It's amazing how much easier the kitchen is to tackle with the right tools and know-how. ;-)

You Say Scale, I Say Gimme Digital!

2008-09-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of the scales I'm using in my pastry school's kitchen. I just wish I was allowed to cart in my DIGITAL scale from home!

Helpful Baking Info - Conversions & Subtitutes

2008-09-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sheeeesh! The amount of info bakers need to know is astounding! Here are some great links I found, just in time for class. (How the heck did I ever function before the Internet??!)

Approximate Volumes to Weights Chart

Metric Conversion Table

Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Times Chart

Cake Pan Size Conversion Chart

Common Baking Substitutes Chart

Two Heads Better Than One?

2008-09-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

You'd think two heads would be better than one, right? That having a pastry partner would ensure that I wouldn't screw up. Hmmm.....

....perhaps IF the brains in both of our heads weren't overwhelmed with trying to appear confident and capable in using equipment we'd never laid eyes on before. Such as a multi-attachment commercial mixer and old-fashioned balance scale that measures in OUNCES.

Our task was fairly simple: weigh out and mix the ingredients for chocolate chip cookie dough -- after tripling the recipe.

At home, of course, Amanda and I know where everything is. Here we had to search for the flour bin, the 16-oz blocks of butter, the flats of eggs, even bowls. And then try to convert everything to those dratted ounces. Obviously, the mental energy needed to do mathematical equations simply isn't there when all of your other synapses are firing away over new sights, shapes and textures.

That's the only explanation I can come up with for why we dumped our white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and salt into a single stainless steel bowl -- BEFORE CREAMING THE SUGARS WITH THE BUTTER. (Duh! That's why it's called the "Creaming Method"!!)

I'm going to blame it on that dratted balance scale. In this digital age, why hasn't that metal torture tool been banned to museums and prisons?! "Because," Chef intoned, "a lot of bakeries still use them."

STOP LIVING IN THE DARK AGES, PEOPLE!!

Anyway, after Chef caught us in that error, he walked by just in time to observe our second: our virgin attempt on the commercial mixer. "Wrong paddle!" he barked. "That one goes on the bigger mixer."

THERE'S A BIGGER ONE?!

Hmmm. I guess my guy friends are right after all: size DOES matter! ;-)

Pastry School: Day One

2008-09-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

So, my pastry/baking kitchen classes run FIVE HOURS long! From 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., three days a week, including SATURDAYS.

That doesn't include the three days of baking lecture, baking math, and two hours of sanitation. Yup, that's right. Until Christmas, I'll have no life.

Today was hard. For starters, can I share just how long it's been since I've been up at 6 am? Two, I'm not used to a rigid schedule. And three, I'm definitely not used to being a pack mull. My book-laden backpack must have weighed 50 pounds -- and felt like bricks were being added with each of the eight blocks I walked from my apartment.

I know. I shouldn't complain. My grandfather (and probably yours) had to walk 13 miles to school, all of it uphill, barefoot. With nary a tart, scone, or French baguette to stall his tummy rumblings.

Yeah, well, at least Gramps didn't have to worry about getting stuck in the culinary department's commercial elevator. I face that very real possibility on the day(s) I'm assigned to drag the kitchen's trash down to the first floor dumpster.

"Pull this big door open like this," explained "Chef," my instructor, "then pull this gate across to step inside. Be sure to close them both COMPLETELY before you push the button to go down or you'll probably get stuck inside."

Then he dropped the other shoe. "When you're ready to come back up," he added, "step inside, close the doors, then push the button. It will ring the alarm back up here. As SOON as someone hears it, he or she will push the button, and the elevator will rise."

Yeah, I can see the holes in that scenario. Like the rest of my 12-member class deciding that NOW is a good time to visit the potty and grab a smoke.

The Embroidered Name on My Chef Coat Should Read "Klutz," not "Belle"!!!!

2008-08-30T10:30:00.001-07:00

OY! After removing my rather lovely-looking quiche from the oven last night, I watched it slide across the cookie sheet, flip over the sheet's raised edge, and go "SPLAT!" on my kitchen floor. Yeah, I was in shock, but mostly because the glass pie plate didn't crack!

So what did I do? Cried, wailed, pouted -- then regained my senses and searched desperately for a flat tool in which to lift the cooked egg from the floor. I was stumped: I own no flat cookie sheets (yet!), and I couldn't find a flat piece of cardboard.

As usual, my hubby (my "knight in shining amour"), sailed through the front door and took charge. He simply separated a spring form pan from its base and used the metal bottom to flip the quiche back over.

Then we did what any home cook who'd put a lot of effort into a new dish did: WE ATE IT! (It's okay, we extended the "five second rule" that many parents and college students use.) HA!

I wonder how many pie mishaps I'll face in pastry class?

Super Freak, Super Freak!

2008-08-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, then!

I think the only way that I, a certified night owl, am going to get through 8 a.m. baking, math, and sanitation classes, is to see the humor in things. Like the way I look in my "chef" outfit.

And the fact that I do exercises with my rolling pin. ;-)

GROAN! I EVEN HAVE TO GET UP EARLY ON SATURDAYS NOW!!

Another Book to Recommend

2008-08-28T19:35:00.001-07:00

This book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, is by expert baker Peter Reinhart, an instructor at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.

It's yummy. Great photos. Enticing recipes. Helpful hints. I'm looking forward to trying to make my own bagels.

AHA! So Pie Is All About Technique!

2008-08-27T12:38:00.001-07:00

I knew there had to be some scientific reasons for my inability to produce a flaky, tasty, attractive pie crust. Turns out I've been attacking the task all wrong!

My biggest offense? According to Sarah Phillips, author of Baking 9-1-1: Rescue from Recipe Disasters, it's because I've dusted the hell out of the dough with extra flour. Well, how else was I going to peel the darn crust off my kitchen counter?! (Answer: parchment paper!)

Another big no-no: not keeping the dough chilly enough. As Sarah says, "FOR FLAKY AND TENDER PIE CRUST, THINK COLD!" Who knew pie crusts shrink because the rubber band-like strands of gluten contract after being stretched unless refrigerated? Not this wanna-be baker! (I didn't know what gluten was either, if I'm to be completely honest.)

Sarah suggests popping the dough into the fridge for 12-24 hours (or at least an hour if you're as patience-challenged as I am), and to keep returning it to the fridge if needed as you go along. And only touch the dough with your fingertips, the coolest part of your hands.

Sigh. At the moment I'm trying to be like that little engine that strained to get up the mountain side. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!"

I WILL have my pie and eat it too!

*check out Sarah's website, lots of good baking tips/info

So Many Gadgets, So Little Budget!

2008-08-26T19:39:00.001-07:00

Now that I'm paying attention to all-things-bakery, I'm overwhelmed with the array of baking gadgets, pans, and books available. And I've discovered King Arthur Flour (www.KingArthurFlour.com), which is NOT going to be good for my pocketbook.

I've already decided I need parchment paper (said to be so much better in half sheets than in rolls), a swanky thermometer/timer, a large rectangular pizza baking stone (I WILL make delicious, crusty French bread, even if it kills me!), a Lame bread slashing tool (looks much tamer than it sounds!), a baker's couche (lidded pot that serves to bake up crusty bread), cookie scoops in both tablespoon and teaspoon sizes, a mat/pastry pin set because my current wooden rolling pin SUCKS!, barley mill syrup and SAF Red Instant yeast.

Oh, and I must, must, must have the little Aerolatte Frother so I can pretend I'm drinking a frothy decaf latte made by an expensive espresso machine.

I better start a Christmas/birthday/anniversary wish list!

Good Thing I Don't Live in Portland, OR!

2008-08-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

All I can say, after spending a week in Portland, is that it's a good thing I don't live there. Because if I did, my buttocks would quickly start to resemble the round quiches I enjoyed so much at St. Honore bakery. YUM! I've found my perfect meal: quiche lorraine, side salad, and froth-topped decaf latte. HEAVEN!

Now if I can only learn to make a decent pie crust when pastry school starts next week!