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May 01, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
Dear Friends,
I'll be in France on vacation for two weeks. There will be a new posting each Saturday as usual and each Wednesday a new You Tube link will be posted as well.
Do continue to post and answer postings.
Happy Baking,
Rose
May 02, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Special Stories
This posting is the first one from Woody who has been working with me for the past five years.
Woody’s Cake for Grand Master Choi 70th Birthday Surprise Party
Real gold does not fear the fire and neither did Grand Master Choi when I presented him with his birthday cake topped with seventy lit candles that blazed like a bon-fire. With one short powerful breath he blew them out in a second.
Continue reading "Introducing My Assistant Woody Wolston" »
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May 06, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Videos
There is little more luscious than a banana cream pie or toothsome than this pecan tart. Heavy cream and Lyle's golden syrup conspire to making the pecan filling less sweet and more flavorful than usual. This is the perfect Thanksgiving dessert. THE RECIPES
Continue reading "PBS 102: Banner Banana Cream Pie & Chocolate Lace Pecan Tart" »
May 09, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Savory Cooking
A few weeks ago I made an amazing discovery about beans that flies in the face of everything I’ve understood for the past 45 years! But you’ll have to wait til next week to find out what that is. First enjoy this article I did for the LA Times Syndicate about 15 years ago. The recipe below will be perfect for summer dinners.
Dried beans are beautiful. They are also healthful and delicious. But there are 2 secrets about beans and knowing them makes all the difference between firm, tender beans and bullet hard ones that never soften.
* Beans that are over about a year old will never rehydrate or soften.
* Beans that are simmered with salt will never rehydrate or soften.
I found out these secrets the hard way and became so discouraged in the process, I avoided bean cookery for years.
Continue reading "SPILLING THE BEANS" »
May 09, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
I'll be in France on vacation for two weeks. There will be a new posting each Saturday as usual and each Wednesday a new You Tube link will be posted as well.
Do continue to post and answer postings.
Happy Baking,
Rose
May 13, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Videos
Food and Wine Magazine chose this recipe from my book The Pie and Pastry BIbleto include in their Best of the Bestcookbook. It's my favorite as well. So on this segment I coupled it with the favorite cake/torte in The Cake BibleThe Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte.
Continue reading "PBS 103: Chocolate Pies and Tortes" »
May 15, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
I had to do it! While it's true that I started my trip in Paris (where I am writing from right now as I wait for departure to the US) I spent the last week in Devon England visiting Kate Coldrick (and family) of 'kate flour.' http://amerrierworld@wordpress.com
It was so hard keeping this a secret for all these months but we wanted to surprise fellow UK bloggers Melinda and Jeanette and it was the only way. Each drove to Devon from several hours away thinking they were meeting Kate for the first time and got the added bonus of me! It was so exciting I can't remember the exact words but it went something like a chorus of "it looks like Rose....It IS Rose...it CAN'T be..it IS! And their poor husbands were totally mystified as to what was going on. One quickly disappeared into a nearby store to buy me a welcome souvenir--a tote bag with the beloved Aga range logo! It was a magical time during which we, of course, talked non-stop. The husbands disappeared for a while but came back at the end and added delightfully to the conversationI
I can't believe we pulled it off. Kate and I were so worred that one or the other might cancel thinking they could reschedule easily for another time. Jeanette said she hasn't been so surprised since finding out a week before delivery that she was giving birth to twins many years ago! (One of which--her daughter Ann--accompanied her to lunch.)
Of course both Kate and I will be posting about our two week adventure from Paris, a chateau in Normandy, a ferry across the English channel (on which we were somewhat seasick but one of her daughters was doing perfect cartwheels on the roiling deck) and then Devon. There were many fabulous meals and lots of baking comparing American cake flour to kate flour. By the way, the UK bread flour for no knead bread is terrific. It seems to have a little of the bran left in as there are tiny speckles.
A perfect trip and now happy to be returning to Elliott, the final proofing of the book, my new yellow baby rice cooker (stay tuned for the ultimate brown rice recipe), and my newish Mac.
Love,
Rose
P.S. bean posting 2 tomorrow!
May 16, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Savory Cooking
Last week I wrote about how beans cooked in salted water or broth will never soften but now, thanks to America's Test Kitchen I'm singing a slightly different tune!
On a recent show on America's Test Kitchen I was shocked to learn that they marinate the beans in salted water. Instead of simmering them on the cook top, they bake them in the oven and claim that the skin is more tender, the beans stay whole and yet are exceptionally creamy inside. Somewhat skeptically, I tried it and to my delight found that it really works!
As I thought about it I realized that soaking the beans in the room temperature salt water would have a different effect from heating them in salt water, which causes the outer skin to harden, and prevent water absorption. Apparently the room temperature salt water serves to help the beans absorb water the way marinating poultry or seafood does.
It is important that the water not be over-salted as too much salt which affect the osmotic process and draw moisture away from the beans.
I suspect that simmering the beans on the stove top will keep them whole as long as they are at a low simmer. This is the way I've been doing it for years and I also cover the pan which I find produces more creaminess but in the oven this is unnecessary.
Here's the basic technique:
227 grams/8 ounces/1 cup cannelini or other beans
28 grams/1 ounce//1 ½ tablespoons salt
2 quarts cold water
Dissolve the salt in the water and soak the beans at room temp for 8 to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well. Add water to come to about two inches above the beans.
Heat the oven to 250°F. Bring the beans to a simmer, set them in the oven, and cook 45 minutes to 1 hour until tender.
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May 20, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Videos
Two beloved American classics. You will see how beautifully silicone pans work for a pineapple up-side-down cake. But as an alternative, don't use a cast iron pan as the acidity of the pineapple destroys the curing of the pan and may give an off color and flavor to the topping. Instead line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment. THE RECIPES.
Continue reading "PBS 104: Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Topless Apple Pie" »
May 21, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
Somehow an important posting question from one of you disappeared amidst the flood of new postings that appeared while I was away. It was from someone announcing she was starting a new blog and asking if I would answer a few questions as part of an interview. I do hope you see this and resend it!
May 22, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
I'm on twitter: http://twitter.com/flourrose
follow my flight!
May 23, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Special Stories
This is iT! The third pass page proofs arrived two days after my return from Europe, just as I was on my way to the all day anniversary seminar of the NYU Experimental Cuisine Collaborative. With difficulty, I left the proofs at home, to attend the morning session where I learned the exciting news that a new publication called The Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science is on the horizon. I was sad to miss Harold McGee’s afternoon talk and hope it will be available on tape. I asked him what he planned to discuss and he said, in essence, that his focus will be on the importance of taking a lot of what is purported to be ‘food science’ in the press and elsewhere with a grain of salt (my translation). Hal is a terrific speaker and engaging gentle person and I never miss the chance to attend his lectures if at all possible. I would love to have seen if he mentioned how scientific theories are just that—theories-- until they so often change to other theories, and the importance of being open to observation and questioning everything. But the page proofs were calling to me, as this was the very last chance to ensure that all the corrections had been implemented.
Incidentally, one of the morning speakers did a lecture on egg yolks which gave me the chance to pose a question I’ve long wondered about: Does the age of whole eggs have an affect on a cake’s texture? I’ve asked the Egg Board and not only did they say “No one has ever asked this before,” (which struck me as tantamount to saying so why bother to investigate) they never got back to me with an answer either (which proves my supposition).
Continue reading "Book Production Phase 16 SEMI-FINALE!" »
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May 27, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Videos
Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake is my signature cake. Soon after it appeared in The Cake Bibleit became part of the permanent collection at Starbucks as well!
The Sourcream Coffee Cake is such a favorite I've included it in almost every book I've done since, changing the shape or tweaking it further toward perfection. Yes! It will appear in the upcoming Rose's Heavenly Cakesusing melted butter for a crisper crumb topping and adding it after the first 35 minutes of baking so that none of it sinks into the cake. THE RECIPES
Continue reading "PBS 105: Lemon Poppy Seed Cake & Sourcream Coffee Cake" »
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May 28, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose
Book Production Phase 17 Final
I don’t have any photos of our celebration dinner—not because I forgot the camera (which I didn’t) but because we were having too good a time to remember to document it!
Production manager Ava brought the beautiful end pages (these are the first pages you see when opening the book). Earlier in the day Pam’s assistant Rebecca sent the final cover. You can see the front on the blog upper right corner. The rest will be a surprise. I think it is stunning.
Now that it’s all complete it is close to unbearable to have to wait THREE MONTHS to see it. But it will be worth the wait—it takes time for this quality of production. By the way, Ava explained that the reason some books are printed in China is because that is where the best quality is produced. Even Swedish publishers who win awards for design and production have their books printed in Italy or China.
Continue reading "Book Production Phase 17 FINALE!" »
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May 29, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements
For more about the recent trip to Normandy please click on this link:
http://amerrierworld.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/la-vie-avec-rose-part-ii/
May 30, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Special Stories
The story of a wedding cake that wasn’t and my new best Baker friend
I’ve sworn on a stack of bibles (cake, pastry, and bread) that I would never make another wedding cake on location again and I meant it, but Iris Updegraf, one of my oldest and dearest friends, is one of the most persuasive people I’ve ever known (plus I've always had a special fondness for her daughter) so when she asked me to make her only daughter Devon’s wedding cake in Arizona I agreed but with several iron-clad conditions.
First of all, let it be said that the nightmare of arriving in someone else’s kitchen is hard for a non-baker to begin to fathom. There’s the walk in frig with onions and garlic just waiting to invade the butter and chocolate. There’s the Hobart mixer with missing paddle beater and whip with a few tines that have come lose, and of course a dented bowl. There are rubber spatulas that are worn and smelling of spices, no pot holders (real chefs use kitchen towels), bent cooling racks, no timers, dented cake pans the wrong size, uncalibrated and unevenly heated ovens with racks that aren’t level, no thermometers—not even inaccurate ones, maybe a scale of questionable accuracy, and we’re not even talking about the ingredients yet.
I agreed to do the cake with the following conditions: First and foremost we needed to bring my assistant Woody Wolston from Minn. He would bring all the heavy equipment such as cake pans and help as both moral support and another set of very capable hands (and in back of my mind I thought that if needed he could run out for missing equipment or ingredients).
Next, Iris would go to the site a month before to ensure that everything on my list had been ordered.
Continue reading "The Sanctuary That Was Anything But" »
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