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Dec 30, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in OUT CAKES
Ever wonder what the rest of the cake looked like after seeing the Matterhorn like slice in the book? Timothy Sulivan did and searched all over for the pan. Finally he appealed to me and this inspired me to post the photo and information about the pan. It's Nordicware's Elegant Heart pan.
Dec 29, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Photos
It will be cake for New Year's but for Xmas week here's what I made and talk about heaven on a plate!!!
It's my recipe for Pecan Pie from the Pie and Pastry Bible, baked in a tart pan but I discovered I don't have my favorite non-stick Gobel 9 x 1 inch pan so i chose the 1 1/2 inch high one. Cold as it is I just had to photograph it out on the porch with the sun shining on it to show the translucency of the crust. My favorite part is all the textures: the nuts, the crust, the plate, and the table top.
The crust is my favorite cream cheese one available on the blog. I now prefer to roll the crust 45 minutes after chilling it as it remains the most malleable. If I'm not ready to roll it I store it in my 65˚F wine cellar. I line the pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight. It has the most perfect shape this way.
Dec 28, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Photos
This cake is hands down the most technically demanding in The Cake Bible.
The owner of the blog Foodmayhem (link below) did a magnificent job to honor her Great Aunt Peggy's 90th birthday.
click here for how it was done.
Dec 26, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Equipment
Wondering how best to spend your holiday gift money? Let me make a suggestion!
Recently, I have given many press interviews on the new book and one of the questions that pops up with great frequency is: what is the one piece of equipment without which I could not bake well? My answer is always that it must be two. On a regular basis, I talk about my strong preference for weighing ingredients as opposed to measuring them by volume, and my favorite scale which is the MyWeigh.
http://www.myweigh.com/scales/medium-scales/kd7000-professional
---But in a pinch I could bake using measuring cups (perish the thought!) However, when it comes to the all-important temperature control of ingredients and mixtures such as syrups, I cannot live without a thermometer and it must be an accurate one.
I have found the fastest and most reliable thermometer to be the Thermapen.
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/splashproof_thermapen.html
And they have recently come up with a new model that is even a faster--3 to 5 seconds, and is also accurate to 0.7˚F/0.4˚C--whereas the original model and only brands read to only whole numbers. The new Thermapoen even comes with a certificate of calibration.
Another important improvement is that it is now "splash-proof"--desirable in a kitchen environment.
In instances where you are working with a very shallow liquid, this thermometer requires a mere 1/8 inch immersion to read accurately. (Inexpensive candy thermometers can require as much as a 2 inch immersion even to approach accuracy.)
If you love to bake you deserve this thermometer. And treat it as the jewel it is, i.e. don't toss it into your kitchen tool drawer--gently and reverently place it in a spot where it doesn't get knocked around and is always at the ready.
Dec 25, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
The Best Book Cover of 2009 is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I think ours is more beautiful and inspirational but that's no doubt because when it comes to Rose's Heavenly Cakes I have both (pride and prejudice)!
I do want to share with you the final results and thank you all for making the effort to vote. I'm still overjoyed that we won the Best Cook Book Cover of 2009.
Dec 24, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Happenings
Some years the town doesn't have the funds to light the trees. Some years only one tree is lit. But something magical happened this year. We drove by after dinner to discover that both trees were lit with a beautiful bluish light. The second slightly smaller tree gives the illusion of being a shadow of the larger one.
I grew up with the gigantic, highly decorated tree at Rockefeller Center but these twin trees in Hope, with simple lights against the black night sky are my favorite.
Dec 23, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in OUT CAKES
Woody put seven pounds of weight on top of this cake to test the integrity of the plastic straw supports!
These next photos show Woody leveling a wedding cake:
The cake raised slightly above the top of the pan using cardboard rounds.
The long serrated knife resting on the edges of the pan as a guide for cutting off the slightly domed top to make it level.
The leveled cake.
When necessary to level a cake, always position the cut side down to avoid getting crumbs in the frosting. The only one of the wedding cakes in this book that needs leveling is the banana cake pictured. This is because of the potassium contained in the banana that absorbs and holds moisture, creating steam during baking. Together with the extra structure from the banana fiber there is no way to get a totally level cake and believe me we tried!
Close up of the lemon peel rose wedding cake decoration.
Close up of a slice of the Double-Chocolate-Whammy Groom's Cake showing the brownie pieces suspended in the baked cake batter.
Those of you who, like me, have sat underneath this white plate with dental instruments hanging over it may enjoy knowing that this is the original milk glass plate that my mother had in her dental office even before high-speed drills became available and the white plates smaller (i have that one too!) I just love the way photographer Ben Fink shot this photo and the choice of shiny black background Roy Finnamore, the prop stylist, chose which reflects the white plate giving the scallops a double image. It was his idea to use the dental plate--devining a long-time wish on my part. Years ago, when my mother retired, she gave me the plate saying "maybe someday you can use it for a cake." Had she lived to see it, she would have been 98 three days from today.
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Dec 22, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
My holiday interview on Anne and Peter Haigh's delightful radio show On the Menu is now available on line.
and the information-filled radio interview with veteran host Leonard Lopate yesterday is one click away here!
Dec 20, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Web Appearances
Food writer Jeff Houck runs an annual fruitcake haiku contest in the Tampa Tribune. This year, I got to be the judge! Thought you'd all enjoy some of the hilarious submissions.
On another note, be sure to check the blog this Thursday for an inspiring Christmas photo from Hope!
Dec 19, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Ingredients
I first fell in love with Louisiana when Terry Thompson from Mandeville came to my week long intensive class I used to teach out of my home many years ago. She has since written several cookbooks on Louisiana cuisine. Terry introduced me to the late Lee Barnes who invited me to teach at her school in New Orleans. She also introduced me to Paul Prudhomme whom I adored on first hearing.
Paul Prudhomme, for those of you who don't know, is a fantastic chef, restauranteur, and tv personality. He is also a deeply philosophical and compassionate person. Paul's blackened red fish became so wildly popular it temporarily put red fish on the endangered species list. And it was at his restaurant K-Paul's that I discovered the infamous Cajun Martini. The recipe is simply this:
Take a large bottle of gin or vodka (i prefer gin) and add a jalapeno pepper. Fill the neck space with vermouth and allow it to sit for several days. It gets more intense as it continues to sit. Chill and shake the bottle well before serving. There is something incredibly deliciously exciting about the sensation of icy cold gin with the spicy hot kick of the pepper. As an aside, it is the only time in my experience that alcohol has cured instead of worsened a headache!
Several years ago, a dear friend, Rhea Denker, whose brother lived in New Orelans, gave me a bottle of Panola's Jalapeno sauce. I think she said Panola is Paul's sister. I quickly discovered that the slightly vinegary hot pepper was a terrific enhancement to pesto. I added a small splash to my weekly pesto and pasta and the bottle was soon emptied but I saved it for years hoping to return to New Orleans for a visit or to find a source. I don't know WHAT took me so long to think of googling and there it was in all it's glory--a website for all of Panola's products!
http://www.panolapepper.com
I was so eager to order I didn't notice that the two large bottles I thought I was ordered were, in fact, two tiny bottles only 1.7 ounces each. I should have realized this as the price was so very low the shipping was many times higher.
Here's what I thought I was ordering:
Here's what I mistakenly ordered:
And here's what they sent:
Talk about casting jalapeno sauce on the water. They must have realized my mistake and decided to remedy it. Just think how disappointed I would have been on opening the long awaited bottles only to find those two miniatures. Actually, at first I thought they had included the little bottles as samples and had run out of the big ones I thought I had ordered. Then I looked at the receipt and it clicked. My mistake.
What generosity of spirit to have thrown in that big bottle. Not surprising from what I know of the amazingly wonderful people of Louisiana.
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