Chocolate and Cheddar

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2010-04-22T08:17:00.004-07:00

Sooo Passe!

2010-04-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

NY Times has a post today's Dining & Wine about people who now take a camera out before their fork! I thought this was hitting big time 2 yrs ago, but I guess that was before it was considered publishable material: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/dining/07camera.html?ref=dining

Shameless Plug

2010-03-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

For Cake Monkey in Los Angeles! Every so often you find a bakery with one or two things that you really really love. This is the case of me loving EVERYthing this woman produces (and the gorgeous way she displays everything). She not only creates lovely, delicious desserts that taste like home, she creates her own versions of our favorites we find at 7-Eleven: Snowballs, Ho Ho's, Pop Tarts, you name it! Above (Cake Monkey Moguls) and below (Almond and Candied Kumquat cake) was a summation of my recent dinner....http://www.cakemonkey.com/

it!

Desserts from Los Angeles

2010-03-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Wackadoo desserts from Jordan Kahn! First is a grilled pistachio financier, a grilled milk mousse, caramelized croissant - with pistachio marzipan (those little green balls), coffee glass, kataifi tuile, green tea vines, cocoa nib ice cream, cocoa crumbs, black sesame halva and pistachio oil gel.

Second dish is crispy Jasmine meringue, aerated white chocolate, aerated buttercream flavored with bitters, coca cola pate de fruit, spice bread crisps, cashew penuche, confit baby carrots, saffron glass, folded mango, juniper cotton candy and bourbon custard. phew!

My Risotto Pot

2010-02-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

I'm getting so much milege out of this thing....I pre-heat it in a 450 degree oven, then drop my bread dough in. No spraying the water bottle in the oven, no need for an 800 degree professional oven - I always get a great firm crust and a soft chewy inside! I kind of cheated on this one...made bread the old fashioned way (kneading, a few rises - the horror!) rather than the Sullivan Street bakery no-knead version that's been getting so much attention http://www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/recipes...hey I didn't have a snow day today and 18 hours to kill! Give a girl a break!

Result: I like the no knead version better. This bread was great with the homemade meatballs I made, but was really dense - no great air pockets, crucial to a light-chewy, not heavy-chewy bread. Still, homemade bread during a blizzard? not so bad...

oh and I got flowers from my sweetie too! good end to a nasty day!

Something Savory...Tuscan style

2010-02-01T18:11:00.001-08:00

I'm going to try to be better about my posts!! It's been a busy winter!!

Lately I've been running into lots of people who are headed to Italy. Since I'm green with envy and forgetting my Italian, I figure the next best thing is to eat like I did in Italy! So I made a pappa al pomodoro - really better in the summer with ripe tomatoes, but who has time for that? This is a Tuscan style bread soup (because who really wants to eat the salt-less Tuscan bread anyway?!) which is actually really just like a bruschetta - in soup form! I think this would make a fantastic dish for kids who can't chew a lot yet...if they like the onions and garlic that is! Here is the recipe:

3 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 small onion, chopped, 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced, Pinch salt, 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped, 3/4-pound day-old Italian bread, roughly sliced, 2 cups water, 1 cup basil leaves, chopped, Freshly ground black pepper, 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, optional, Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano,

In a 12-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until onion is translucent. Add a pinch of salt. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down, about 5 minutes.

Place the bread slices in a bowl and cover with 2 cups water. Tear the bread into rough pieces and add to tomato mixture. Add the remaining water from the bowl. Continue simmering until all the bread has absorbed as much liquid as possible, yielding a baby food-like consistency.

Stir in the basil. Season, to taste, with pepper. Add extra-virgin olive oil, if desired. Let the soup continue simmering for 10 more minutes, then serve immediately in warmed soup bowls.

That's it!!!!!!

Meatz n Cakez

2009-10-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

I think many aspects of the main meal segway beautifully into dessert.
I'm just not sure a dessert needs to resemble dinner. Case in point:

Dylan Prime’s Chocolate “Porterhouse” for Two: Red Velvet “N.Y. Strip,” Frozen Mousse “Filet,” and White Chocolate Bone, $24.00.

Then when you cut inside:
Ummmmmm....
Um.

How 'bout a baked potato to go with it?

Cowgirl’s Original Ice Cream Baked Potato, $6.95 (image courtesy of The Village Voice).
A hunk of vanilla ice cream is shaped like a potato and then rolled in cocoa powder to replicate the tarnished, brown skin of a baked potato. This sweet spud is split open with whipped cream mimicking the overflowing insides. Chopped pecans are dyed green to give the appearance of a scallion garnish, and yellow slices of fondant “butter” complete the copycat confection.

Can always rely on the Feedbag to keep me informed of anything and everything to do with meat. Especially when it's not!

The fruit's always better in SF

2009-06-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

and I do mean the actual fruit! in CA! not the other kind SF is known for...

Berries were in season (when are they not out in this sunny state), and I got a whole bagful for 75 cents! Definitely the best deal scored...

Oh yeah, I hit this:

Jamaica

2009-05-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

The reason I was there: Nash and Holly's wedding!! Congrats! xo

Stuck on a beach with no bottle opener? No problem mon! The back of a beach chair works perrrfectly.

Ahh....

I found me some Bammy! Cassava + Coconut milk.

Red Stripe Light!

It was the start of mango season. I cut mine with a butter knife.

@ Scotchie's. Some of the best Jerk and Festival around! Roasted breadfruit was out of season. Sad face.

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T17:45:00.001-07:00

Montreal 2009

2009-04-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to return to this beautiful and hospitable - and tasty! city just last week. Montreal in 48 hours, where to go?? What to eat?!

Step 1: Start off with a healthy breakfast. with butter. Preferably full of chocolate (extra point) Ignore fruit.

Step 2: Choose your menu wisely. More points if you double up on the delicious meats and game Quebec has to offer! My eye is wandering south and to the right though to desssert.....
must ...
not give....in.....
yet...

Step 3: Choose a chef who likes to play with his food (literally). Is it me or does this pig appear to be smiling??

I am amazed at the amount of meat in this guy's walk-in! (thanks chef Normand at Toque! for the tour and letting me post these photos of you :-)

PS - step 3.5: Make sure it's a fun place!! It counts in this game.

Bonus points if they bring you lots o'shots of whiskey - even if you don't want it. and then again for a second round. The whole point of this exercise is to stomach the food and the booze together. It keeps you warm in Canada!

Step 4: Um. Eat.

Foie gras at Toque!

Pork rinds fried in um lard (why use oil??) at Au Pied de Cochon

They prefaced this dish with "oh, you will just die". This is puff pastry, bechamel, potato, blood sausage and foie gras tart. Www..wwow.

Canned duck + foie gras, a signature at APiedC

See how they serve it!!

Step 4.5: Suga'!!! Many more points if you can stomach it!

Dessert at Toque! Mmm. An almond puff pastry (super thin) with triple chocolate ice creams, ganache, vanilla ice cream....

Step 5: Triumph! Sleep. Gym. Remember. try to replicate. Realize you can't make diet version. Go back.

A Saturday in April

2009-04-04T22:59:00.001-07:00

It all started off so well....a momma to be craving a peanut butter caramel chocolate cake for her shower. I put together something quite delicious and may be a signature for me moving forward....deep dark chocolate cake, vanilla peanut butter salty caramel, 3 kinds of chocolate in the ganache, home-made candied ground peanuts....this was just right. even with my heavy hand pouring the ganache almost off the plate!

Thennn it all kind of spiraled out of control once the sun set for Julie's birthday in Park Slope. There were about 34984 birthdays going on that evening and the people next to us begged them to help finish their Mrs. Fields cookie pie (with frosting, gotta love it - we stole the "ppy" in "Happy Birthday", as you can see) and their ahem pink cherry frosted cake. Went really well with our bar food + PBR - thanks guys!!

Qwality Qwik Meatz

2009-03-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Recession Special! @undisclosed bar on Avenue A.

Mmm. You won't even notice we kept it under a heat lamp for 9 hrs before you came in at 3 am!

Gigantor....

2009-03-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

Of course I love everything with sugar. I especially love gummy candies - Starburst, Skittles, the like...but especially gummi bears! Haribo and Black Forest are the best (thank you Germany). I even loved the cartoon show..."Gummi beaaaars! bouncing here and there and everywhere..." It always made me want candy on a Saturday morning.

I never thought I would not want to eat a gummi bear...until I spotted these beasts. Yes, this is one giant gummi bear. To give you an idea of the overall size:

Costing a mere $3.99, this baby can be yours for a mere 1200 calories. It also felt about a pound or pound and a half. EW. I mean, I'm sure I've eaten this amount of candy at some point, you know, in a movie theater or something. A giant bar of chocolate at a few pounds, comparatively speaking, does not seem too over the top.

But something about this just seems WRONG. Maybe it's the image of the giant jelly head wiggling back and forth at you or the fact that this is one blob of blobbiness, the way the goo pulls away from the plastic container. Or the absolute sheer amount of puke green. Or if you take a bite, you have to inevitably finish it shortly - you can't just bite it and let it sit... Somethin's off.

Beauties on the Beach

2009-02-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Now THIS is a beautiful site....
I didnt get to go to SoBe (South Beach food and wine festival) this year, but I can live/read/blog vicariously!
Chadzilla captured this on his trip down south....

Obama Sushi...and other thoughts for today

2009-02-19T08:56:00.001-08:00

'Nuff said. Too good not to pass around! Thanks to Gawker for finding this. According to the maker, the "process of trial and error was very difficult". This says: "Obama's skin is made out of ami (little shrimp) boiled in soy sauce, his hair is made out of black sesame seeds, and his teeth are made from fish paste."

mm 'bama is full of protein!

In other culinary news...
Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, apparently applications to the French Culinary Institute have doubled from 500 to 1,000 a WEEK...not a surprise, but will this lead to more toques behind hotdog carts? (too many with culinary degrees + not enough restaurant jobs = take a high(er) paying pushcart job!) in case you're curious, it's $11 - $13 an hour. Makes my babysitting jobs for $7/hr back in 1993 look saaaad...

Toques-behind-pushcarts

thank you, Associated Press

Pastry gets the shaft again...FCI is planning to take $4,000 off the price of pastry-arts seminars, starting in March - and it's STILL $32,750! Hot dam!

Banh Mi n Bacon

2009-02-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

yes it's pork. I love it. Makes. day. happy.
that's it.

Related note: love today's NY Times little ditty on bacon and desserts: "bacon desserts have become the skinny jeans of pastry: trendy to a fault, saucy when successful, yet often ill-advised."

Maybe they should tell that to a skinny-jeans wearing East Villager eating a cupcake. :-P

Wall-e Eggs

2009-02-03T08:21:00.001-08:00

Ok so I think this fantastic movie got snubbed. I mean, Benjamin Button for Best Picture? Please. Formulaic.

But I can show my support by finding out where to buy these awesome eggs! Thanks lalalyuda @tmblr.

Industry Thingies

2009-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Hearth and their blowout 5^th Anniversary Party last night. I was impressed with the turnout (and that it's a block from my apt, let's not lie) but these kind of parties make me want to pull another 2001 Inaugural Ball move (without the pre-party jello shots - ahh to be 21 again) where I embarassingly went around to everyone I ever had a class with and talked to/danced with/dined with (ok, tried to dance/dine, but they lost patience with me)...remember those years?? I actually had a really fun time that night....

I can't do that now of course, when I hit these industry events. I have one or two thoughts about my career/life at large haha...like that couple making out at the bar (who were they anyway last night?) and I wasn't just there for the meatballs (damn, they were good) but it's only after the fact that I read about who was at the party, who I should have met, who the "he/she looks familiar but I can't remember from where...." I mean we recognize the Wylie's and Tom Colicchio's, but but...that person there? Argh. What's a good way of doing this without the assistance of pre-event Jello shots? Or more importantly, an equally fun way? I wants to be um...klassy ya know.

Oh how I hate to get up in the morning.....

2009-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Poor Frank Bruni...he had to go to Daniel this past week and review it. whimper. and settled for another 4 star rating. how the poor thing must have suffered. See the review @NY Times
I suppose any of these guys need an official reminder of how they are doing (though is it really 'official' with how unpredictable Bruni has been these days?)

I've only been able to try Daniel's food at a few events I've attended (or crashed, who are we kidding), like the City Meals on Wheels I went to on Wednesday. But absolutely sublime....
Congrats DB!

Winter can be delicious

2009-01-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

No I'm not talking about making those standard comfort foods, geez how predictable...roast chicken or mashed potatoes (my dinner last night) or mac and cheese (my dinner a few nights ago) or baked goods (banana bread I also made this week)...oh wait, I'm seeing a pattern here...

I'm talking about my friends to the north, who are getting completely pummeled with frozen temperatures and snow. Stop production! Take a snow day! Close the office!
These guys do none of that. Snow and sub zero temps mean delicious ice wine!! Not the standard ice wine you're used to...no this is apple iced wine, a specialty to the Quebec region. The apples freeze and you press and voila! Apple Ice Wine!

It'll give you a hangover like you've never had, even if you aren't drunk off it! A lot of residual sugar, but the acidity in the fruit cuts it and it goes down super smooth. Makes a great dessert wine if you're feeling boring, makes a fantastic pairing with meat (foie gras anyone?) if you're feeling rich.

YUM

Candy Wars 2008

2008-12-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

So I tend to make a bi-monthly (at least!) pilgrimage to Economy Candy to stock up on dried fruits, nuts - a general stocking of the cabinet if you will. I will get tempted by their home-made S'mores, chocolate covered Oreos, amazing selection of Ritter Sport, awesome real Turkish delight or an occasional Jelly Belly fix...however, once a year, during this magical time, I create some serious damage in this store. And I mean SERIOUS. It's so much fun! Wish I had an excuse to buy this much candy all the time. Alas, I will not be eating all of it, it was mostly for gifts (for real! ) But it got me thinking...wtih all of my recent candy consumption as of late, how do I feel about the old fashioned candy - the Walnettos, the Bottle Caps, the Mallo Cups...

Old

vs. New
vs Pig Candy! New at Essex Street Market (great butcher shop to boot!), this is simply bacon smothered with chocolate. YUM. Nothing super exotic or free range about the Jimmy Dean bacon (did you see their crazy Thanksgiving Day float?), but the novelty has given this small chocolate company a cult following. It's more expensive than cocaine, but how does it fare? After some rave reviews by friends, some 'eh' remarks from others, and omg from Serious Eats I have to say this is truly a unique piece of candy. But addictive? I'd have to say 'eh'. The bacon has a super sharp bite against the chocolate, almost an acidic flavor. You really need to eat the milk chocolate version over the dark...the sugar plays well against the bacon and the addition of milk calms it down. We'll see what super bacon fanatics have to say (my test audience is not complete yet!)

vs. the French!!

Believe it or not, I do still have (a smidgen!) of candy left from France! A true dedication to quality - this passion fruit chocolate bar from Pierre Herme gave me goosebumps! (and also my wallet's), while the caramels have such a lovely butter taste and velvety texture, it's hard to go wrong when something is done just right.

I need to start a poll, I don't think I can make this decision by myself. How does everyone else feel?

Pork and Cupcakes anyone?

2008-12-17T20:18:00.000-08:00

Yeeah... so this is the problem when I work late, get to the gym, then am staaarving coming home! You know how many good places I pass by the time I get back to my apartment? This is the East Village, we get ramen next to cupcakes next to a pork bar next to a dessert bar! I mean really, why live here if you can't have it all?

I was going to just go home and make myself a simple meal of...oh I don't know...when I got inspired to hit the new Milk Bar. I'd already hit it up a few weeks ago and had a piece of her candy bar pie and was inspired to try the peanut butter cake. But I get there and to my horror, I see people outside..outside???
They must be smoking.
No they're waiting..um, to go in.

Screw this, I'm hungry! Besides, I pass it on my way to work and coming back home, ha! So then I think - hm a cupcake might be nice. And wait, I pass the good ramen place! No not the one here, or the one next to it..but the good one! Then I remember they don't do takeout. damn! Deflated. And ramen sounded so good - especially after being on the treadmill watching the Muppet Christmas movie (very funny when the Swedish chef brought out the whitefish on the pizza to the guys from the Sopranos..) The girl next to me gave me funny looks for watching the Muppets. Whatevs. She looked bored ;-)

(cupcake timer courtesy of gizmodo)

Anyway, so my curiosity is killing me and I've been wanting to try this new cupcake place on 7th. So I get there (passing another dessert bar on the way of course) and I see Porchetta is across the street. Hello! Another little wonder on my list, I hear mad raves about their pork sandwich! So my feet kind of draw me in, really, I don't walk myself in. And it so happens to be across from my original destination. Geez I planned this perfectly. So I start eating the sandwich, after all, it could get cold going home! That would be tragic. So I eat it whilst standing outside Butter Lane, debating whether to go in. Really. I'm still eating my sandwich. But, but...do I dare?
I do.
Did they notice the pork grease on my face as I ordered the "American Buttercream Vanilla"?
I did walking out.
She definitely noticed me opening my wallet and paying with one hand as the other was too covered in pork to function! oops. moderately embarrassing...

Yeah, put some buttaonme! Delish. I walk out with my pork in one hand (which is divine, a hint of anise and pork cracklings to make it crunchy!) and my smooth move divine little butter cake. Which was good, but not great. Maybe it was because it was 9 pm...but the cake needed more salt and the frosting, I think more vanilla. Damn I'm picky.

But at least I exercised.

But that's why I love the East Village.

(As a recent addendum to this post, Eater.com just posted the recent surge in dessert activity in my hood: East Village Dessert Destinations)

Holiday Lights in the City

2008-12-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again..if you haven't done the 5th Avenue tour of windows yet, you simply must get there - it's tradition! I seem to have radar for the most delectable pastry-themed windows, including these gorgeous white ones at Bergdorf's! Everything is white, including the one window full of cakes and pastries! And frogs! and hat boxes full of cookies!

Lord & Taylor had charming, more traditional window displays. Little moving figurines swaying this way and that...very bedtime story esque...

Macy's was a little whackadoo...but kooky and rather creative. This large, loud booming voice reads the story to you, you don't really follow the plot...and frankly some kids looked frightened. But the originality and strangeness of it is quite engaging...especially when a purple-haired Twinklebelle Kadie sitting on an ornament named Dickory is staring back at you. Love the hoops and wings!

Pandolce

2008-12-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Bread for the holidays....a delicious pandolce! This bread really transports you...if you've lived in Germany, you'd think it was stollen. Italy - is it like biscotti? The US - fruitcake...but I think I like it... It's not quite any of the above, and this was a new recipe I tried after discovering the recipe in Saveur...this makes four beautiful loaves with only a 1/4 tsp of yeast in the entire thing! How does that work? Magic! The bread did need some salt however, but what a great use of Maldon on top here...

Paris 2008

2008-11-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

So Paris. It rained. And I ate.

Mmm

Luxembourg Gardens....

Oysters from Marennes!

Where am I off to next?

2008-10-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hint....

2008-09-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have been sooo remiss! Talk about a busy summer....
Here's what I've been up to all this time! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=115687&hl=congress&st=0

Sugar for the Summer

2008-07-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting at work and I get an email from my pastry school about an upcoming alum event. Lo and behold! I am reminded of my pastry school days with a few shots of me embedded in the email. It was a little strange! Ahh having to worry about nothing other than perfecting my marzipan pumpkins, conditioning my buttercream and shaping my chocolate box. It was a fun summer of having nothing but suga on the brain.

I didn't get to eat this :-( They actually made me pour this chocolate about 100 times!

Me with the hair in the background...

Some berries, Some awards

2008-06-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

The 2008 James Beard Awards....fun times in 100 degree weather! Too much champagne, too many people to take pictures of (hence no photos of me!) You can see my wonderful picture-taking abilities at: http://www.starchefs.com/Gallery/Index.shtml# (click on The 2008 James Beard Awards up top - it's a little hard to find amongst all the food photos!)

I did however manage to pick over 16 pounds of strawberries the day prior (thanks for the help Mom!) I could only freeze a certain amount in my teensy NYC freezer, thus I think I ate about a pint a day last week, yum! My cereal has never been happier.

Fun with Chicago Chefs

2008-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Me playing photographer for the night! With Graham Elliot and his fans (www.grahamelliot.com/)

Racking up the miles....

2008-05-30T21:52:00.001-07:00

I've been pretty bad about updates lately, this is my first weekend back in the city! Visiting Mom on Mother's Day, out in Chicago taking crazy pictures of chefs, trekking to Ohio visiting the sister...I'm exhausted! Promise I'll have new stuff sooon!

Something new I'm trying next week: Does it look lame? Does it look fun? It's a new game compatible with Wii coming out in July and designed to put you in the professional kitchen - remembering to plate this, fry that, while dicing this...and it puts you in Kitchen Stadium ala Iron Chef. It's called Order Up! The animation looks a little like drawings I made when I was 5, but then again it's a game! And besides, what game can compete when you can play with Kim Jong Il or a Chucky custom designed Mii??* To see the video, go here.

* Mii characters - I like the categories, like Slasher (Jason, Freddy) or Sidekick (Garth) and Muppets! http://www.miicharacters.com/

Spring in Montreal!

2008-04-30T17:50:00.001-07:00

So I spent a few days in Montreal on a food trip (of course!) The weather was perfect and the Montreal Canadians were winning - so naturally everyone was in a good mood! That is, if you also count lighting 18 police cars on fire as being "in a good mood" to celebrate beating the Boston Bruins....

Chez L'Epicier

So what do you do when dinner lets out at 1 am, no one is at the restaurant because of hockey season, and the chef and sommelier want to go out? You go where all the other chefs and sommeliers celebrate after hours of course! You play odd wine games and stay up till the wee morning....

Me with Dave the sommelier. The wall behind me makes this place look prison-esque, but it was actually really neat.

The chandelier at the wine bar, made of wine glasses and martini glasses! Perhaps a few malt glasses too?

This was the guy behind the bar . We brought him sake, he brought us wine. A lot.

mm sweetbreads at Brontë. I had 5 dishes of sweetbreads in a week. no more! This was his 'Surf and Turf' sweetbreads, yellowfin, tortellini

This was incredible. At Laloux. Litchee granite, white chocolate and yoghurt cream, grapefruit, Campari and hibisicus crackers

Hawaii!

2008-03-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

I am full! On macademia nuts and coconuts! and papaya. not yet on mango though. or on mahi mahi or wahoo. Wahooooooooo! Anyway, just back from Hawaii on a mini-break, one week is never long enough for a vacation! I went to the Big Island, to Hilo and Kona and a little bit of volcanic action in between. Like a rest stop, but with lava. The weather was stunning, save for the "vog" - volcanic ash and clouds from erupting Kiluhea covering everywhere.

mm luau food. This was waiting for us when we sat down. Fresh coconuts, papaya, pineapple, macademia nuts (my new obsession!) some kind of taro chips (I think that's what they were). Then it was the actual food from the luau - coconut shrimp, green papaya salad, watermelon sprinkled with coconut, pork wrapped in banana leaves, pineapple rum cake...and these little kiwi vanilla tartlets ("tartlets!"... did you ever see that Friends episode?) that were completely addictive.

Sarah and Meredith at our luau

Me, freezing! in Hawaii! and in ill fitting gloves...Watching the sunset on Mouna Kea at 14,000 feet... and then later, a star show - saw all the constellations including shooting stars and watching satellites orbit the sky, looking through telescopes and seeing Saturn and its rings....was so incredibly cool - but it was 25 degrees!

Finally, back at sea level. 85 degrees. and no loopy altitude sickness!

Ok back to the food....my visit to the only chocolate farm in the US. Ripe cocoa pods, harvested. I also visited the only vanilla farm in the US, but they wouldn't let us in the greenhouses to see the orchids and vanilla beans! Sad....Guess they just don't trust tourists to mess with their beans....which take years to grow, I can't blame them....

Miami

2008-03-13T14:43:00.001-07:00

When you are in Miami, fountains and pools are something of an art form. Take this fountainool above, for example at the Setai courtyard in Miami. Stunning.

Which is where our dinner took place. At a Very Big Table. For all 45 of us, it felt very medieval.

Yum. Chocolate and Mandarin Encerraditos, Mandarin Sorbet, Campari Jelly

Italy!

2008-02-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

So I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Italian Chefs Congress in Milan the last week of January. How very cool! 4 days of meeting chefs and eating. That was about all there was to it. I was also excited because January in Italy means no tourists and massive sales! However, my press duties committed me to interviews, dish shots, recording, tasting etc etc. So all in all, I had about an hour to myself the entire time I was there....

Milan - Duomo. The weather was about 60 degrees and gorgeous. I walked outside whenever I could. Love the lighting of this one.

A spot of Brunello di Montapulciano for me! This was on our tasting at Ristorante Cracco. This bottle was especially delicious, a smoky and tabacco delight. We finished this bottle. Which is bad because we had a lot of other parings to go....

mm gelato....the last shot before my battery died. A good parting shot in my opinion. I wasn't hungry at all but this place had my favorite - rice gelato! It's one of those things I mention a lot and people don't believe that it exists. But I found it, I did! And like all things that people don't believe in but you do, I was by myself and had no witnesses. sniff. But it tasted good...

pre-dessert. These were little truffles and knick knacks of chocolate. Before our semifreddo and citrus/vanilla creme dish. Because you know a little chocolate is not nearly sufficient...the one with the leaves was some strange grape. fruity deliciousness.

the crew at Ristorante Cracco....an amazing tasting. We ate in the kitchen, our dinner didn't end till 3:30 am....15 dishes, 15 (or 16? 17?) wines and liqueurs, little bites here and there. I really lost count.

Indian charcoal butter - the butter drips down and you have this amazing smoky flavor... I didn't get to try it unfortunately, I guess I'll just have to go to London and eat at his restaurant. Sigh.

Hazelnut soft chocolate, bitter lemon, coarse salt and caviar. Totally and completely bizzare. But it worked.

end of dinner. wine. food. this was around 2 am the last night in Italy (our second dinner, we were like Hobbits). Could_not...eat....any - More. time to digest!

Dinner at the James Beard House

2007-11-21T12:21:00.000-08:00

Tastings galore!!

2007-11-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Every so often, I go on a tasting or two. This one was just supposed to be a casual lunch meeting with an advertiser last Friday. Turned into a food science fun-omenon and a 4 hr lunch at davidburke and donatella! A great, light and airy place. Cozy in a crowded sense, but they have a great prix fixed menu - just watch out for ladies who lunch! (they are loud). Just a sampling of the !many! courses I had...

I've had foie gras many different ways, but this was something new. Eric Hara (dbd's chef de cuisine) calls this his oxtail broth, oxtail ravioli with "funky foie gras noodles". They come by and pour the broth in separately, then Eric came by and syringed in the foie gras mousse/noodles - they cook on contact. gotta love that methylcellulose!

Cassoulet with white truffles shaved tableside...what more can I say...

This was called "petit fours and petit fours" - the french word for "small ovens", these were little cakes and candies served on the most adorable little oven they have specially made. Great presentation. Don't go wrapping one up in a napkin and hiding it in your purse ala a bread roll - they'll charge you the full $350 it takes to create one of these ovens!

The classic "Park Bench" dessert. An edible chocolate bench - inspired from Central Park - served on an Opera slice. an interesting flavor combination, the layers were passion, toffee, coffee, buttercream...

David Burke's best seller - the Cheesecake Lollipop Tree, served with Bubblegum Whipped Cream. Not sure about the whipped cream with it (weird, but you have to try it)... a whimisical and superfun way to end a meal. I was supafull, so only nibbled.

NYC Annual Chocolate Fashion Show!

2007-11-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Tiles inspired by the NYC subway system....

This flapper dress was made of 700 individual chocolate tiles!

I think this may have started to melt...

Chocolate tiles, chocolate leather...mmmm

This dress was made of cookies!

A full bottle of Grand Marnier on her head....

One outfit made all of chocolate...a little strange! she also had difficulty walking ;-)

New York

2007-09-26T18:13:00.001-07:00

Ok so it's been forever....I know, I know! Long story short, I'm now in New York City! I'm out of the kitchen, and instead of working for one chef, I'm working for many! I go to random food events, like Danny DeVito launching his line of limoncello, meet some great chefs and eat awesome food for free...I can't complain ;-)

http://www.starchefs.com/events/icc/2007/html/Gallery_Index.shtml

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=107860&hl=

Success!

2007-05-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

A happy bride! All the favors got up there in one piece and people ate all of them!

Wedding Favors!

2007-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

I've been SO absent, I'm sorry! Moving to a new city, starting a new job...and making wedding favors! These are for my dear friend Carley, she is getting married on Saturday. 150 guests, 2 cookies each, 300 total. Plus extra for breakage, transportation, blah blah. So I rented school space to make and bake the 400 cookies (took an hour and a half! without professional equipment = hours and hours and hours of frustration and ugly cookies!) Then I frosted them with royal icing, very thinly - then royal icing initials dusted with a pearly luster and voila! I just hope they get up to Boston with me in one piece...

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous day!

Medieval Pastries

2007-01-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Ahh my fellow queens, serfs, lords and ladies...should you hunger for campy and kitschy jousting and plaster-of-Paris castle walls, look no further than a night at Medival Times! It was fun, I can't deny...I went last Saturday with several people for a friend's birthday...we cheered on our evil green knight, only to have him get tragically stabbed in the semifinals! sniff sniff...

But does one go for the food? Ahh this is a different topic entirely...let's just say, your money seems to be invested more in the entertainment than the food. You know what you are eating for dinner, however the meal is ended with a generic footnote about a "pastry of the Castle"....makes me think it's whatever is leftover or what they could get in bulk. So sad, no attention paid to dessert! And what we had, I think McDonald's makes a version of this that um, tastes muuuch much better.

Brioche without the tete

2007-01-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

ok so I made brioche - yum! My first time with my new official brioche pan...I had to test to see if it was done, and to see if it was fit to serve of course. My next brioche will be complete with its tete (the middle!)

Mini French Pastry time!

2006-12-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

My final exam....phew...
Some of my projects! And yes, my elephant appears again as a friend of the lion!

Mmmm Candy.....

2006-11-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Candy week is here! Every kid's dream to make candy all day....though we didn't eat it all, so I guess that aspect is not really part of the dream...

My camera finally got fixed, so I'm back to taking pictures!!

Super Super Secrets of Bread Making

2006-10-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our week of bread has arrived, finally! I can't share all the secrets I've learned this week, but I can share pics! It's been a few days of quick breads, focaccias and yummy crusty artisan breads....and most special of all, we got to take some bread home! I could never in a million years eat all the loaves I brought back with me (imagine a car ride home full of the smell of warm bread!) So I gladly shared with Emily - thank you for taking it off my hands! Here is a look at some that I kept...
From upper left to right, clockwise: Multigrain, Olive Thyme, French Bread, Rosemary-Basil Goat Cheese Focaccia

My "birthday cake"

2006-10-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are the one who usually brings dessert to various parties, dinners, etc...but this time, it's your birthday party?? Simple - you make what you want to eat! This picture quality is not so fabulous - I'm working on getting my new camera which will be wonderful when that happens....
but here is my French Apple Tart, and yes I threw in some caramels for good luck. A nice fall dish if you ask me....

Apples and more Apples!

2006-10-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been awhile! I've been working a lot and my camera has decided to break - ick! So I'll have to use a backup in the meantime....
Anyway, tomorrow I turn 27 and having dinner with some friends...I think I will make some cheese straws to go with dinner and for dessert, a French apple tart with homemade french vanilla ice cream...
I will be using these apples that I picked last weekend!

Wedding Cake Day!

2006-10-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

We had our test this week for our wedding/celebration cake....unlike last week where we played with fondant over styrafoam, this time we actually made everything...the cake, the buttercream, creating the layers of cake....it took a loooong time! I wound up not using the roses I had worked on earlier this week - and just had fun with the marzipan fruit and pulled sugar!

Up close and personal....

With some of the classmate's cakes....

I'm glad it's done!

A new kind of bouquet

2006-10-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Working on my sugar roses this weekend for my wedding cake test later this week....getting a little nervous thinking about it!

So I decide to relax on Monday,a gorgeous October day, boating with some friends...here is Brent in all his glory

Cakes with Colette!

2006-10-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

My finished cake!

We were lucky to have Colette Peters in with us the last two days, teaching us about gum paste, cakes, etc. I won't bore you with the gum paste flowers, I seem to be completely inept at making those anyway...they are better served as a tasty snack (seriously!)

But it was really fun building our fondant cakes! The class was very creative...I seemed to go with a pastel theme, everyone was calling it a "baby shower" or "bridal shower" cake...I still have some finishing to do on it, but here is the final result up front! The blue and white one in the background is a fellow student's...

Me with Colette Peters....

Salty Caramels, part 2

2006-10-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ooooooooooh, my digital thermometer is in, it's in! (thanks Adam!)
So now I've coated my caramels in chocolate and some fleur de sel...wow they are awesome. I think next time I will double-coat them in chocolate though, equal amounts of caramel=equal amounts of chocolate...

In case anyone is wondering....

2006-10-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

what a typical day in pastry school is like. This picture pretty much says it all - thankfully there are 18 of us!

Salty Caramels

2006-10-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Inspiration...if you happen to have some leftover cream (and lots of sea salt and vanilla beans!) - salty caramels will be your reward! I need to share these before I eat them all...these might pose a problem for me...
Actually I'm going to coat them in chocolate shortly - even better!

The Perfect Sticky Bun

2006-10-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Every Christmas I make these - and something just doesn't work. Too dry, too overcooked/undercooked, didn't rise well enough - blah blah blah...what was I doing wrong? Anyway, these ones we made in school are fabulous - all you need is a bunch of brioche! The finicky bread...but if it works well, well - um...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

A high class Ho-Ho - and more affordable!

2006-09-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

mmm - a chocolate orange roulade!

Fun with Figurines!

2006-09-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

So cute! Working on my marzipan...

Welcome!

2006-09-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

My first official post! At the urging of my camera and a few curious friends, I've now officially started to document my journey through pastry school. I realize I'm a few months late in initiating this, so I will try to play catch up as best I can!