Dede Wilson’s New Book

Oct 04, 2008 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements

I’m sure many of you in this country are familiar with Dede Wilson as she appears often on the Today Show, representing Bon Appétit Magazine for whom she is a regular columnist. She is also author of seven cookbooks including her just published “the Birthday Cake book, 75 Recipes for Candle-Worthy Creations,” (Harvard Common Press).

Dede is one of the liveliest and fun people I know and I am a great admirer of her work as well. The first time I met Dede she told me a hilarious story which perfectly describes the originality of her approach to baking. At the time “The Cake Bible” was published Dede had a bakery and decided to make the Chocolate Pinecone which involves tempering chocolate and spreading it into dozens of tiny oval shapes that then get stuck into the ganache coating the cake. After completing the cake she decided she would never make it again (who could blame her!) but would put it on display in her showcase. However… while she was out one of her salespeople who didn’t know it wasn’t for sale allowed a customer to buy it and also took an order from a second customer. That’s when Dede, out of desperation, came up with the brilliant and original solution: She placed chocolate chips on a sheet pan and melted them in a very low oven. Then she took the pan and dropped it on the floor so that the chips skidded out into perfect ovals. I knew right away that the future held lots more surprises from Dede Wilson. And this new book certainly qualifies as one!

The book is filled with luscious and creative ideas for birthday cakes, from apricot roses to Red Velvet Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and even a cake that can be sent in the mail. I especially love the one pictured here called Pretty-in-Pink Cake. What a brilliant idea to use raspberries and candle holders. And I love the velvety crumb of the cake and the opulent huge petals of frosting. I also like that the cake isn’t leveled—the doming looks so natural and approachable—in fact the whole effect is friendly and delicious.

If you’re looking for great decorating design ideas for people of all ages and a great collection of well-conceived recipes this is IT!

SheepPigs

Oct 11, 2008 | From the kitchen of Rose in Special Stories

Across the road in Hope there is a farm that has a most unusual breed of sheep. The first time I saw them I thought they were pigs because of their spots but then I noticed the horns on some of them and realized that there was no way a pig would sport those!

Recently, my wonderful neighbor and friend Maria Menegus went to upstate NY to visit her sister CeCe and brought back some terrific undyed wool from her sheep. In fact the wool is so untreated it still had bits of straw to pick out while knitting. My father, who was visiting at the time, took one look at the wool and asked me to knit a scarf. And no sooner had I announced I had finished the scarf he asked for a matching hat! I made the scarf with all knit rows (i.e. purl) as it is thicker and warmer that way but the hat, which has a double layer around the ears when you turn it up, I did in ribbing.

The wool was fun to work with as it had a natural spring to it, no doubt from the lanolin which processing tends to destroy. I was so pleased with the results I signed it at the bottom with some left over red wool from a previous project.

Maria told me that her sister’s sheep actually came from the very farm where I first spied them. Maria and her son drove them up to upstate NY. It’s kind of funny to think of the traveling wool which started on the sheep in Hope, then continued to reside there in upstate NY until shearing, then was carded and spun into yarn and returned to Hope, and then knitted into the scarf and hat and returned to upstate NY!

Maria doesn’t raise sheep but she and her family do have a wonderful farm and roadside stand and her father-in-law Joe, across the road, has chickens and the most delicious eggs which have spoiled me for any other.

This is a photo of Maria’s recent harvest. And the photo below it is a recent breakfast Elliott and I enjoyed on a Sunday in Hope. We called it the boy/girl breakfast—note the difference even in the color of the plates! His was sausage on my filone bread; mine Menegus tomatoes, grilled Vermont bacon, Menegus cast iron fried egg, on lightly grilled Ricotta Bliss Bread.

Back from Switzerland--Well...Almost!

Oct 12, 2008 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements

It was a wonderful trip and terrific group of people. I have some great photos and stories and even a recipe to share but it will take a little while as tomorrow starts the final round of photography for the book and will go the entire week til Saturday.

This weekend is Book Production phase 11 3/4. Shortly after my arrival the corrected Galleys arrived and I've gone through the entire set making sure that over 1000 corrections were input. Amazingly there are only about 38 left--all minor and several due to my not noticing them before. An example is in the chart where I am using only a half a pineapple and the volume in the cell reads 1/2 which looks kind of odd even though the ingredient cell reads pineapple, halved.

Each new generation of the book becomes closer to it's final appearance. The colors and design look so gorgeous it made the arduous process of scrutinizing text almost enjoyable. Now I can't wait til January to see all the photos in place. And I'm really excited about the upcoming photography. When I see the final cover design I just may pass out with joy! So many years, so much effort on so many people's part, the moment that the first copy is placed in an author's hands rates as one of the prize moments of her/his life.

Adams’ Ribs

Oct 18, 2008 | From the kitchen of Rose in Special Stories

We certainly have come a long way from the Garden of Eden! For one thing, we are no longer in a state of blissful ignorance and contentment nor are we easily provided with for all our needs. But lacking all that, and after generations of struggle, mankind must have done some things right as we were rewarded with Google?!

I use Google in innumerable ways and one of my favorites is whenever going to a new restaurant I love to see the reviews and other people’s comments on favorite dishes. Being in the NY area, the review I usually head for is the one from NY Magazine, written by Adam Platt. His reviews are well –written and reliable. This brings to mind a story of how I first met Adam.

The late Vinnie Scotto had just opened Scopa and Elliott and I were pouring over the menu trying to decide between pasta and grilled rib steaks. In an Italian restaurant the pasta always tempts me most but out of the corner of my eye I discreetly (or so I thought) viewed the magnificently charred rib steak at the next table at a slight distance from ours. The man enjoying it looked over at me, smiled, and said: “Hello Rose; would you like a taste?”

When he introduced himself as Adam Platt, I explained that it was the rib I was after not the steak itself. He offered at once to hand it over to me as he didn’t plan to nibble on it (or maybe he was just saying that and being a gentleman!). I told him I’d have to share it with Elliott as he too loves ribs, and to my utter astonishment Adam replied: “Oh! My friend Adam here also doesn’t eat the rib so that one’s yours too!” It would have been funny enough with one Adam and one rib but the amazing coincidence of two of each was staggeringly hilarious. I promised I’d someday write up the story as “Adams’ Ribs',” but I hesistated for a long time because it seemed highly fictional. But who could think to make up such a thing! So with apologies and trepidaton, there it is!

Incidentally, some of my favorite things in life are coincidences of which I’ve enjoyed many small and large. If you’ve read or seen the movie the Celestine Prophesy (which I highly recommend) you may look at coincidences less as some unlikely occurrence and more as being open to the universe which is a good part of its message and the way in which I now have come to view them.

Happy 20th Birthday Dear Cake Bible!

Oct 25, 2008 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements

This month of October is the official pub date. And the coming out party was fortuitously on the very day of Maida Heatter's birthday. (It was my dessert goddess Maida who wrote the amazingly wonderful intro for the book.)

Our wonderful Hector offered to digitalize the original New York TImes photos that appeared shortly after the party on October 19, 1988. I sent it to him in Hawaii and he returned the original and e-mailed the electronic file so that you can all enjoy it. The only thing missing is the bottom of the page, just below the recipe for the Chocolate Domingo, the cake dedicated to Placido Domingo. Could it have been pure coincidence that just exactly below it was a photo of Pavarotti raising a toast--not to the cake as the caption read "Pavarotti ends diet"!