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I asked Luis to share the photo of the cake she was planning when she posted a question on the blog about a challenging cake request. Here was her response:
This is the cake I did where the customer was "not too much not too sweet; not too this not too that." I didn't end up doing the meringue sticks as planned because she said they were too sweet so this is what ended up being done. It wasn't stacked in the normal way but it worked.
Well done Luis!
I was so taken by the image of this family, with the little girl's skirt draped over her father's back perfectly appropriately like a fan, I followed them and snapped this shot with my Iphone! And guess where they turned off: The SoHo Apple store!
I love NY best in the fall with its crisp, clear, golden days and quickening of back to work activity.
I have to share with you this link to my dear friend Caitlin Williams Freeman's exquisitely artful cakes.
Now I can't wait until she sees how her "Tom Boy" the signature cake from Miette Bakery in S.F. is pictured in my new book!
I know I’m blessed that my father has reached this incredible age in reasonably good health and mind. But it still makes me sad that he has lost so much of his hearing, vision, and independence. He always has had an extraordinary ability to sleep and now he is sleeping 90% of the time. But when he’s not sleeping he’s always ready to eat and that is something I can do for him. So for 10 days I cooked and baked my heart out. This did not stop me from feeling guilty for becoming impatient with him when once again he misplaced his hearing aid and I had to shout for him to hear me. But it helped.
Of course there had to be his favorite cherry pie. That was going to be his birthday “cake”
until he put in a request for Black Forest Cake. At first I was annoyed because I didn’t have the right pan nor did I have access to the non-ultrapastuerized cream that makes such a difference and had he asked the week before when I asked him what he’d like I could have procured it. But then I decided to do what most of the rest of the world does: make do. I beat melted butter into the supermarket cream to increase the butterfat and stability (as I wrote about in The Cake Bible). I set the top cake layer on top of the cream filling before realizing I had forgotten to poke in the brandied cherries (which I found in back of the frig where I had stored them years ago). Upset at first, as I tried to lift off the top cake layer only to see it start to come apart, I decided to stick the cherries into the cream from the sides. So what if it didn’t look perfect—he couldn’t even see the difference. We enjoyed the cake over several days, complaining only once that the cream was lighter than he remembered it (well…yes!).
It was preceded by the eeriest yellow green light and then the charcoal grey clouds started rolling in. Constant thunder, lightening, and sheets of rain coming sideways. I've never been frightened by nature before from a NY high rise! It looked like a tornado was approaching.
I was talking to Woody who said "take a picture." But in my excitement I didn't remember how to eliminate the flash so what you see as a bright comet is merely the flash bouncing off the window pane!
It was at its most dramatic in this photo when one can see the part of the sky that was not yet covered by the ominous clouds.
Have you ever seen a garlic scape? Every July I make my pilgrimage to the Union Square Farmer's Market to pick up several of these exotic looking tops of the garlic plant. You can buy them already cut or attached to the fresh green garlic bulb which I also adore to use in cooking. It is milder and has a lovely texture. Later on in August they sell them as what I call garlic pearls when the little seeds inside grow into tiny buds that if planted would form new garlic bulbs. They are a nuisance to peel but worth it for their lovely crisp texture and little bursts of flavor. I sometimes poach them for a minute or so in boiling water to make the skins easier to remove and then add them to pasta and pesto or ratatouille.
The fresh scapes are great sautéed lightly in a little olive oil or even steamed just until the stems are tender--about 5 minutes (insert a thin metal or wooden skewer to judge this).
Until I'm ready to cook the scapes I put them in a vase as table decoration.
I'm sure you're all curious to see what Hector made for his special birthday celebration. I think the results are stunning! I just couldn't resist offering Hector a recipe from the wedding cake chapter of my upcoming book because it was so appropriate to his location. I asked Hector to write this posting so he could describe the process and results!
Hector Hawaii 4-0
Be careful what you ask for as you may get it, and there hasn't been one thing Rose hasn't delivered for me! Months ago, while working on the youtube project, I shouted to get paid: "Rose, can you make my 40th birthday cake?" She almost said yes, except knowing that it will need to be done far apart and on the same day after her return trip from Paris, instead she gave me one of her new cake recipes: The Tropical Wedding Cake for Hector.
When I reviewed the recipe at first sight, i was not excited. Tropical fruits was something I hardly specialized in. You know, it is true we always think the grass is greener at the other side of your town (yellow in my case). But as one matures with time, like love, I now feel the "local chef celebrity status in Hawaii." This cake has gained more attention than any of my previous cakes have, locally. The macadamia nuts came from Lions Gate Farm in Kona http://www.coffeeofkona.com. Suzanne Shriner harvested the most perfectly fresh nuts and carefully packed the precious cargo with layers of bubble wrap; per my paranoid request of a food stylist! Whole mac nuts are worth their price in gold, so here they are for your enjoyment! The vanilla came from Huahua Farm, also in Kona http://www.huahuafarm.com. Clare Wilson grows the vanilla beans herself; hers are so nature perfect that one day I envision making a cake covered with whole vanilla bean twigs.
This is a banana cake with passion fruit mousseline. The nuts were removed prior to slicing the cake, and later added back on to each serving plate. My dearest friend Deanna and her children Jade and Wilson, were uttermost supportive (needless to say, they attended each of my month long birthday parties!). Wilson is such well behaved child, he was hired to remove all the nuts during cake cutting, and he did so without snacking!
I love the picture with the ocean and being tossed a prize medal. Children tell the true story without words: Jade shared her judo medal with me! Everyone made comments that Rose's banana cake was the best in the world. It was truthful bananas delicious, fragrant without using banana essence (which most bakeries use giving it an artificial flavor), the dark tan color and the speckles were appetizing, but most of all is the characteristic melt in the mouth texture Rose's butter cakes mixing method have. I confess to always mixing an extra minute or two whenever using Rose's butter cakes mixing method, to guarantee achieving "developing cake structure" a concept I find so hard to explain in writing... so perhaps I will make a short video and youtube it!. I do notice Rose adds an incredible amount of salt, and kindly whispered asking if anyone thought this cake was salty? Nobody said so...... Salt is sweets’ and desserts’ best flavor enhancer. My mother always used sugar to enhance the flavor of salty dishes, or salt to enhance the flavor of sweet dishes!
I have a small whimsical collection of tiny ceramic animals: two little dinosaurs, two little frogs, a moose, and a blue bird with outstretched wings i think of as the blue bird of happiness.
In this photo, i frosted the cake with chocolate whipped ganache, grated bitter sweet chocolate on top and set the little moose in the center.
Be sure to remove the non-edible decoration before serving!
due april 9th, and all chocolate cake, say no more I made these out of chocolate rose modeling paste. sugar flowers is not my specialty, but for this cake I needed a few, so opted for Cake Bible's Chocolate Rose Modeling Paste. It really works, I had to follow rose's instructions step by step since the last time I modeled roses was 25 years ago!
the recipe is sufficient for 8 roses, plus a bit extra, and let me share with you that these are the most delicious sugar roses I've ever eaten. who can resist chocolate? even if no real cocoa butter is in? the smell of the roses was so chocolatey, too.
next time I will use real white chocolate, it should work, but will be a little more temperature sensitive and not keep longer than a month or so on display.
ok, I am so bad keeping you all in suspense. april 9th is Luca's birthday and he is going to get a very special cake from the Cake Bible. i am planning on the chocolate oblivion torte, thinly frosted with white chocolate, then wrapped with chocolate fondant, and adorned with chocolate roses (leaves, branches, and roses). if you have or have seen a copy of Cake Bible, you know the name of this cake already!
p.s. yes, this cake is completely flourless, and just happens my flour bins are full of bread flour, go figure bread baking is taking over.
My dear friend Diane Boate, about whom I have written on the posting of the Daniel Patterson Alexandra Foote wedding cake a few epiphanies ago, has just sent me the most amazing cake she made for the Balboa Theater’s 83 birthday. I just had to share it with all of you and Diane, who is the soul of generosity (actually she even won Woman of the Year award for public service recently) gave permission unhesitatingly.
Just in case you don’t remember, Diane is an amazing photographer, dress and hat designer, and was long ago dubbed “The Cake Lady.” There is nothing that Diane can’t make and she can even play the piano without music. (Is it fair that one person should have so many gifts?!)
Diane wrote: I am calling this my Signature Cake (because I have been making variations of this for 35 years). It is your Mousseline Buttercream frosting with 60% Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate and coffee flavor to taste...... Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate.”
Never too late for a Xmas card of this extraordinary beauty from star blogger Hector of Hawaii! (if you don't know Hector, visit the forums!)
HECTOR SAYS: 5 months ago, while doing my daily run to empty the kitchen trash at my bakery internship, I noticed 7 full size sheet pans of dark chocolate macadamia nut bars. The bars were over-stirred while adding the nuts, so it cooled as the most 'unnaceptably' streaked dark choclate bars with delicious highlights of blonde nut oil! I no longer have this dirty task on my job description as I have been promoted to the cake team, but I still have over 7 kilos of this chocolate! When I came home with the precious trash, I placed the bars on a suspended big holed colander overnight in my oven with the lights on, so I removed the nuts.
Therefore, I made Cake Bible's Chocolate Pine Cone cake, in my opinion is the most chocolatey cake in the book, so chocolatey I am naming my rendition as the Chocolate Pine Truffle. This was my first cake in my new apartment, and you won't belief how relief I feel that I was able to bake! The cake celebrated my uncle's 60th birthday.
Be sure to include the cute whole pine nuts, if time permits place a pine nut under each and every petal! The caramel pine tree branches are entirelly optional, this time I brought these back and plan to keep in my airtight containers for reduce-reuse-recycle causes!
Merry Christmas dearest bloggers, it has been the best year yet, and may 2009 bring many high energy (and calories) joy joys.
Love. /H
The photo of this impressive cake with most unusual decoration was sent to me by Audra Comer. I want to share it with all of you along with this gracious note:
Dear Rose,
I just wanted to send you a quick picture of my brother's groom's cake which I made for his wedding on the 31st of August. It had to travel across our state of NC and didn't arrive in quite the shape I wanted, but I was still proud as a novice cake baker. You taught me how to do this! Thank You!
You asked for it and Hector generously created it for download as a poster!
Download: 20 x 30 size Poster of Rose in People Magazine
(6.45 MB file size)
or
Download: 16 x 20 size Poster of Rose in People Magazine
(6.48 MB file size)
I always hate to leave when the rhododendrun is in full bloom.
We have tons of irises I brought from the old house in Hainsburgh. (Yes we just moved a little down the alphabet!) Unfortunately only the yellow ones seem to survive with a very few purple ones. The gorgeous scarlet ones were probably too delicious for the chipmunks and ground hogs to resist.
The vase is an antique my father gave me belonging to an old man, John Zerkelese, who worked in his shop many years ago.
It doesn't get much better than this in the wish fullfillment department!
This is a note from Hector from Hawaii and I thought you'd all appreciate seeing the spectacular photo plus a description of how it was made and for what special occasion!
Note from Hector:Last Saturday, my younger cousin Keith Chan graduated in Civil Engineering. He organized a lovely dinner for our ENTIRE family which turned into a family reunion of 80. My relatives has seen me baking since I started with The Cake Bible back in 1989, but they have not seen any of my recent work, so I offered to make cake and attempt to re-introduce myself as a baker. My first cake from the book was the Golden Cage which I have a picture I dare $$$ to ever share publicly. I felt the responsibility to do something with caramel....how about a caramel bridge? If it didn't turn out, my cousin could fix it!
Here it is. The vertical ropes of the bridge were done by pouring caramel onto every other groove of corrugated cardboard lined with aluminum foil. Honestly, the technique is here, but I would execute this cake again, a little more carefully and precisely to make it look prettier and less heavy: I inserted Mc Donald's drink straws in the cake to prevent the bridge from smashing! I ran out of time that evening and showed up late at the dinner, never again because when you show up late no-one sees your cake! I do have a few pictures with my cousin and my nieces with the cake, but besides that people admired the cake mostly for its flavor when served.
Jennifer Giampetro sent me these delightful photos and it looks like not only was it her first big cake but it was someone else's first big cake too (see below)!
It has been almost 12 months since I baked my last butter layer cake. I am very sorry to report defeat in the form of Rose's Yellow and Chocolate Butter Wedding Cake. I needed to make two 9-inch, two 6-inch, and a variety of smaller sizes. Rose's recipe is perfect, and it is probably a recipe that has been executed over a million times during the 20 years since Cake Bible printed. Use cake strips, lower oven temperature 25 degrees if convection is used, and I THINK you will avoid defeat.
Never has a German Chocolate Cake looked more appetizing!
or a blueberry lemon cake more beautiful
A year ago, during my visit to Germany to visit my nephew Alex and family. Marley Jane was only two months old then. When I returned with Elliott a only 6 months later she had, predictable changed significantly--in fact, she took her first steps with him. And what a lovely surprise to receive these recent photos her mom Haley sent me and to see she is already a little girl and such a sweet one too! Haley titled the photo with the daisy "Haysmile" and I just know it's because Marley was looking at her older brother Hadyn!
I’m not sure if I’ll ever make onion soup again, at least not as long as I live a 5 minute walk from Blue Ribbon Bakery and they still make their glorious version.
For starters, chef and baker Sefton Stallard makes some of the best bread I’ve ever tasted and believe me I’ve tasted many a bread around the world! When creating the kitchen for Blue Ribbon Bakery he excavated an ancient wood fired brick oven in the cellar and called in an expert from Europe to restore it to working order.
Seton studied in Paris at the Cordon Bleu and apprenticed in Paris and in Switzerland for several years. He created this onion soup based on his taste memory and, I suspect, improved on it as it’s better than any I tasted even in France.
When cold weather sets in there is little more pleasing than this hot soup filled with caramelized onion and topped with a slice of bread soft and comforting with the juices of the stock, also serving to float an ample island of stretchy/stringy strands of melted gruyère with crunchy golden bits adhering to the edges of the bowl. It satisfies every possible longing--at least while eating it.
well there it is--the babka stayed and i gained a little over 1 pound. i just returned from my early morning swim and ran into one of my favorite neighbors waiting for the elevator. she asked me in a hushed voice what i had been baking the night before last. she said the whole hall smelled like apple pie and permeated all the apartments (she had already queried another neighbor). it was the cinnamon and butter combination of course. incidentally, ann has a luscious sounding chocolate and apricot filling as another great alternative to the cinnamon and sugar.
since i can't seem to get this babka out of my mind, i started thinking that maybe i should use half light brown muscovado sugar in the filling but then decided it was risky as where the babka opens up during baking and the filling carmelizes, the molasses in the brown sugar would make it either burn or become too dark and bitter.
i'm having trouble waiting the 45 minutes for my editor to arrive so we can finish the babka together. i'll distract myself with coffee.
A few postings ago i mentioned viewing the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center and how I regretted not having brought my camera. No longer, however, because standing next to me was Kurt Liu on his first trip to New York from San Francisco and he had a very impressive looking camera mounted onto a tripod. I knew his photos would be better than anything I could have taken so I asked his permission to post it on this blog and he graciously agreed.
These two photos really capture the majesty and exquisite setting of the most spectacular Christmas Tree I've ever seen in all my years in New York. Only once did I happen to be at Rockefeller Center at the moment of the tree lighting and it was an experience I'll never forget.
Thank you Kurt for allowing us all to enjoy these two fantastic photos.
Happy Holidays,
Rose
P.S. for more photos by kurt liu here's the link to his flickr site
It was beginning to snow as Shelly climbed up to the top of the tall ladder and refusing my help managed to find a way to sever it together with the branch in a way that kept it from dropping to the ground. That left me free to run for the camera!
The grey and brown paper strips and swirls of the nest were amazingly beautiful up close and through one of the holes in the side one can see the pockets of the hive.
It's the largest one I've ever seen and astounding to contemplate that it is made from the hornets' saliva. Fortunately there were none still dwelling inside. Once the first frost comes they are said to leave the nest and the following year they rebuild from scratch. If left to the elements the next gradually disintegrates. I hope to hang this one from the porch ceiling in a place where the rain doesn't come slanting in to harm it. It's a treasure.
I had to share with you...
From: Cathy Waller Subject: Happy Halloween! To: RoseI just wanted to share with you a little of what I've been up to. I brought this to a Halloween party last night, and it was a hit! It was 4 layers of Perfect All-American Chocolate Cake with Orange flavored Mousseline Buttercream filling and icing. One of the best compliments, besides its spectacular taste, was that most people thought it was a centerpiece, not a cake.
Next is a 3-tiered anniversary cake and another sculpted cake to feed 100. Thanks, friends, for all your encouragement, help and support!
It has taken several years, but such is the superiority of silicone in many applications of baking and cooking, the consumers have reached a real comfort level in near record time it usually takes to accept new technology. I would bet that there is at least one silicone product in every kitchen in America. I don’t think anyone still uses rubber spatulas rather than silicone spatulas that are heatproof to over 500˚F.
Through using silicone bakeware and cookware, and learning its properties and how it functions, manufacturers and designers are coming up with all manner of incredibly inventive gadgets that show silicone to its best advantage and that serve as indisputable replacements for old technology.
Nushera has shared this great technique for making roses. You can use marzipan, or gumpaste and the colors of your choice.
When Ron Ben Israel came to live in this country he claims to have known nothing about cakes or cake decorating. He learned baking from The Cake Bibleand cake decorating from the high priestess of pastillage flowers Betty Van Norstrand.
When The Plaza planned their 100th birthday celebration it was Ron they chose to make this extraordinary replica of the hotel in cake!
Ron teaches regularly at the French Culinary Institute and occasionally at different locations around the country.
ONE OF RON'S MANY ASSISTANTS FOR THIS MASSIVE PROJECT
My dear friend Ruth, of Montecastelli in Tuscany, where will be in just a few weeks, www.montecastelli.com is an incredibly talented photographer. She rarely sends me an e-mail without including her latest visual splendor and this one, captured at Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras just East of Yosemite National Park, I just had to share with you.
I’m back—well rested and well fed and ready to begin the new year!
Thank you all for responding to each other and I’ll try to catch up with the questions that have remained unanswered as soon as possible.
Here are some Hope highlights from our lovely vacation (for me vacation means getting to cook and bake special things as well as rest).
The hornet's (paper wasp's) nest is just outside our back door but high enough above to keep them and us safe from each other. I can almost forgive them their sting when i observe the splendid home they built for themselves!
Be sure to try the Primo Focaccia which has been posted on the blog many months ago. I think it is my top favorite bread. Since I couldn't bear to throw out any of the fed starter i used all 160 grams and increased everything else by 1.185 times.
i've lost track of just how many years we've lived here (part time) but one of the many things i've enjoyed has been how little things changed. recently this has changed.
the charming village cafe in town, where we enjoyed many lunches and dinners, has closed and is up for auction. and the lovely inn across the way where we went for special dinners has changed hands. it has been owned for many years by our friends cordie and charlie puttkammer who now plan to retire to their home on the beautiful mackinac island in michigan, and tour the u.s. via trailer. i met cordie when another mutual friend, food writer joan nathan, learned that we lived here and insisted that i go over and meet cordie. i found her playing tennis on their court up the hill and we've been friends ever since.
often, cordie would happen by to watch us hit and on occasion appeared with her racket and a partner and we played doubles. i will miss her very much and hope to visit in michigan.
here is our current tennis audience on cordie's court:
that’s what elliott calls it after my having called attention to the fact that i have foamed the milk for my cappuccino to a new height resembling the matter horn. i’ve written before on this blog about my preference for foamed milk made with a foamer without the injection of steam produced by the foamers on some espresso machines. but i now have some new information that i think will be of use.
first of all, i found that not all foamers are created equal. if using a hand-held battery operated foamer, aeorlatte is the one that produces the finest, most stable foam. if suddenly the foam seems less impressive it’s time for two new batteries. for ease in use, and a finer foam still, i use the nespresso aerocino which plugs in and makes the process mostly and blissfully automatic.
fellow blogger hector made the important discovery that when chilling the aerocino the foam is still more voluminous. i now keep the aerocino in the frig always at the ready!
but there’s another vital factor to the production of ideal foam and that is the milk. you can have the best apparati and still achieve inferior foam if the milk isn’t right.
non-fat milk probably foams the best but has no flavor. next best is 1% so when i use that, i add a little heavy cream to the espresso. whole milk will also foam well but you have to experiment to find the best brand. i’m sure it has to do with something in the milk production and/ or ingredients added. in my area, cream o’ land whole milk and tuscan 1%, work the best.
here are the pictures you've all been waiting for from the amazing Hector!
I think I’ve told this story before but for those who may have missed it, here’s the background to this photo that I hope you will find inspiring, i.e. I hope you will see how much one can improve with practice and determination!
Elliott and I were not yet married so this was a little over 31 years ago. Elliott’s son Michael was celebrating his 13th birthday and had the good taste to request see ingthe Broadway play Dracula with Frank Langela. I offered to make the birthday cake. This was BG (before ganache) and I wanted a rich dark chocolate frosting if not for the cake itself at least for the decoration. So I kept adding brown food coloring, not realizing that it would darken on its own after several hours.
Hi,
This was the cake that I made this weekend (with your help!) for my
cousin's wedding.
At the wedding I was asked if I could come teach a class on cake
decorating! I thought they were kidding! This was only my fourth
wedding cake!!! Anyways, I was honoured... but I think I will just
tell them to all go buy your book;)
Thanks again!
Michelle
One of my very favorite things to eat are fried clams but rarely do I find them worthy of eating. For one thing, if they are just the strips without the bellies, they are more batter than clam. Only if they are steamers (aka piss clams) so they won’t have the right texture variation from plump juicy to crisp chewy. And if the place uses a low grade commercial oil for frying and doesn’t change it often enough, the fried clams become all but indigestible. I have found one place in the world that makes fried clams exactly to my taste—The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport Maine (see below for contact info). (Actually this was a discovery of my eating partner in crime Elizabeth Karmel of Grill Friends). I have driven miles to get there from wherever part in Maine I find myself.
Sadly and obviously fried clams can’t be shipped, but to my delight, The Clam Shack has just started shipping their lobster roll kit! It is shipped overnight in Styrofoam, with icepacks, and despite the 90 degree weather it arrived in perfect condition—the ice still frozen and the lobsters, even the Styrofoam, smelling only of that dreamy briny/sweet sea-breeze aroma.
after several years of thinking about little more than the book and the blog, what a departure it was to take off to france with no computer or manuscript! and after months of little sleep, to meet the deadline of book submission, i felt as if i were sleep walking until i arrived chez my friends the chouards in a little village of st. méard de gurçon. actually i fell asleep in the tgv to libourne until i heard an enchanting little voice calling to me: “cou cou madame!” i opened my eyes to a 4 year old little girl with blond curls and blue eyes wide with daring at speaking to a stranger—a sleeping stranger at that. (i had noticed early that her father was working on a computer and answered her in polite don’t bother me monosyllables when she cried out “regard papa, le chateau!”—which was probably responsible for her daring approach.) i asked her if she lived in the town where the train was approaching and since no answer seemed forthcoming i fell back to sleep. moments later came the response: “oui”! i fell back to sleep secure in the knowledge that i was home at last to one of my favorite places on earth where children are more often than not especially charming.
This cake which Lisa Shepley calls "My Tribute to Rose Cake"(and I am honored) is so stunning I had the impression, for a fleeting instant, that I could smell the rose (not to mention that my head cold is still preventing me from smelling anything!) In Lisa's words, here is how she accomplished this breath-taking work of art. I sure would love to see it cut into!
The layers are 10"x3", 8"x3", 6"x3" butter cakes, torted and filled w/buttercream. All covered in white fondant, doweled as usual and stacked. For the "rose layers", I roll out fondant aprox 1/4" thick. First cut a piece about 2" x 4", straight on one side and wavy on the other side with a pizza cutter. Roll up to resemble a rose center. Press the bottom to make a "base". Glue in center of 6" cake by brushing the base with a little corn syrup. Cut another strip a little longer and form the next layer of petals around the center piece and continue until the top of cake is filled. (using corn syrup as your glue) Next, cut a little wider strips in same fashion and start on the sides of the 6" cake, overlapping and turning out a little at the tops to form a natural rose look. Continue to bottom of cake, making the layers a little wider so it looks natural. To color the tips, drop a bit of food coloring on a small plate, dip an artist type paint brush in a little vodka and make a diluted puddle on the plate. Wipe almost completely dry on a paper towel. Brush on tips making a little darker at the top of rose. After completely dry, go back with a dry brush and dust with a little pearl luster dust. (hope this was condensed enough!) Thanks again, you're the best! Lisa Shepley
It worked out perfectly to escape from April showers into May flowers two weeks early. When I arrived in the Dordogne the day after the huge storm in the Northeast, everything was in flower. The ground was covered with these tiny daisies and the fields with golden culvas from which the ubiquitous cooking oil arrachide is made. They seemed to capture the sunlight. May in France and Germany began two weeks earlier than in New York.
I'm eager to catch up on postings as there have been many highlights this past month, the trip to France where I had the great pleasure of meeting Clotilde Dusoulier whose terrific blog, Chocolate & Zucchini, is linked to mine, meeting my nephew's new family in Germany, and this coming Monday the Oscar's of the food world—the 20th anniversary of the James Beard Awards which will be held at Lincoln Center. Stay tuned!
P.S. Three days before leaving for France I turned in the manuscript for the new book—815 pages weighing in at under 1 ounce on a CD. (My editor at Food Arts, Jim Poris, tells people I weigh everything—even air! Actually the weight of air is known as altitude.). Here's the presentation:
Another Beautiful Cake from Patrincia!
Hi Rose, Here is a photo of the 2nd wedding cake I made this past weekend. I used your Mousseline Buttercream and you might be interested to know that the reception was held in a place that serves meals to senior citizens, so the room was warm before anyone arrived. Add to that about 100 people and a bunch of spotlights (one directly on the cake - yikes!)... so let's just say it was VERY warm. The great news is this - your buttercream held up extremely well for the 3 hours the cake was on display; it didn't slide or shift at all. I added grosgrain ribbon to match the bridal party - it stuck to the buttercream without any problems either. Thanks to you, this stay at home mom's can turn out cakes that not only look like they were made by an upscale professional bakery, but they taste like it too! Sincerely, Patricia Reitz (Patrincia), Winchester, VA
i received this lovely note and photo, and couldn't wait to share it with you...
Rose, Thanks so much for letting me send this photo. I've been baking from The Cake Bible for years, but this was my first attempt at a wedding cake. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out (like a proud mother of a new baby). The cake was made from your Chocolate Butter Cake formula and it was filled and frosted with your Dark Chocolate Ganache recipe. One of the wedding guests asked me to make her son's wedding cake - all vanilla, inside and out. I'll be sure to use The Cake Bible for the formulas and recipes I'll use for it too! Sincerely, Patrincia, Winchester, VA PS - I can't wait to get your new book when it comes out!
Cranberry Walnut Bread
I’ve been carrying my own food on plane trips for years now but my husband usually prefers to eat what’s given on the plane. HOWEVER, now that one has the privilege of paying for such dreadful stuff, I’d have to be plain crazy not to bring my own and Elliott is now amenable to the idea. So two days before departing for our annual ski vacation in Deer Valley, I started the cranberry walnut bread destined to be filled with cold roast chicken for the trip. (brownies for dessert)
Since I baked it the day before, we already consumed about a third of it before making the sandwiches. The rest will be divided between breakfast before departure and the freezer for our return.
This seemed like an excellent opportunity for a step-by-step bread lesson so instead of packing in a timely way, and not waiting til the last minute, I photographed all the different stages of the bread.
For those of you who have the Bread Bible, you will already have the recipe. As you will see from the photos, I mixed it in the bread machine this time.
I made half the recipe (which baked in the same time) though I would recommend tenting it with foil after the first 30 minutes of baking and using a cushioned baking sheet or double baking sheets as this bread tends to brown readily.
The only thing I did that was different was to add 75 grams (2.6 ounces—a scant 1/4 cup) of stiff starter that I keep in the freezer to add to dough to give it extra flavor and extend its shelf-life. If you do this, defrost it and add it torn in pieces to the water mixture. Also add an extra 1/8 teaspoon of salt to balance the extra flour in the starter.
Anyone who doesn’t have the Bread Bible and wants to make this recipe let me know and I’ll post it on the blog on my return.
Sponge Peaking Through Flour Blanket After 1 1/2 Hours
See the rest of the photos on the individual page.
I was about to start writing about this newest soup recipe but had to jump up and eat a bowl first—it is that compelling a soup! After having fallen in love with the veal shoulder bean and barley soup a few weeks ago I started thinking about bones that have the most gelatin, and pig’s feet have them all beat, though calves' feet trot in as a close second.
PIG'S FEET SIMMERING
THE CHILLED GELLED STOCK
THE GRAND FINALE
After simmering the feet for 3 1/2 hours the meat, grizzle, and ligaments were easy to separate from the bones. And there were an astonishing number of little bones. It made me think of a story my mother told me many years ago about her experience in dental school. She recounted that the only difference between premed and predent(al) was when it came to autopsy. The predent students stopped short at the hands and feet. She never understood why but now I do—at least partially. There are more little bones in the feet than in any other part of the body. And I suppose they don’t relate to what is happening in the mouth (except for the metaphor of putting one’s foot in it!).
When I was growing up, my grandmother often made calf's foot jelly, called pitcha (which I wouldn’t eat). My Uncle B would walk over for a bowl of it at the shortest notice, he loved it so much. He would eat it still hot and then take back some to eat cold and jelled the next day. Grandma always added vinegar to the boiling feet and after researching pig’s feet I discovered that it wasn’t so much for flavor but rather for health. I wonder if she knew that vinegar leaches the valuable calcium out of the bones and into the stock! My husband suggested I call my version of this dish “Pig Pitcha”! By the way, the secret to keeping the beans (my addition) jet black is to add the water in which they were soaked along with the beans.
Actually this soup is surely exceptionally healthful. The pig’s feet have so little fat there was nothing to skim off after chilling. I love the idea of using every part of the animal we eat. This dish is so economical I felt justified in pairing it with a disproportionately expensive pinot or cabernet.
Having fallen in love with my new cast iron pots with the intended use of baking bread, I found myself gazing admiringly at the lids when inspiration struck. Why not cook on the inverted lids ?! And why not borrow the technique of preheating them from the no knead bread recipe?
So I preheated the lid with the oven to 450ºF./230ºC. tossed some quartered little potatoes and a few mushrooms with olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
The lid handle fits right through the opening in the oven rack keeping the lid stable. After about 30 minutes, turn the potatoes and remove the mushrooms. Sprinkle the potatoes with chopped garlic and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and tender.
This is the first time I’ve ever made a wedding cake away from my own home kitchen so back in August I started compiling long lists of essential ingredients and equipment necessary for the task. I forgot one indispensable item, however, until 2 days before I was due to fly out to S.F. as I was visualizing the whole process in my mind’s eye—a heavy duty turntable. Luckily my friends Caitlin and Meg from Miette Bakery jumped in generously loaning me their best, most smoothly turnable turntable. Caitlin also managed to find me the Green and Black cocoa which is my favorite and had been sold out at Whole Foods.
Continue reading "Deep Chocolate Passion Cake/The Foote-Patterson Wedding" »
I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but almost did. October 17, 2006 Elliott was recovering from hip replacement surgery and not driving and I was recovering from sympathy back pains with four bulging discs. There was no way either of us could drive to New Jersey. But the ever gracious and generous Knowles sent a car for us so we got to participate in this unforgettable event that I’ve been wanting to post but have been waiting for some very special photos and for the courage to do it full justice.
My connection to the Manor goes a long way back to when my then 92 year old grandmother had her wedding ceremony there. (She married a younger man of 89!) It was a very intimate celebration so I wasn’t actually included, but only a few years later I had the good fortune to meet the owner of The Manor Harry Knowles, the family patriarch of the 6 generation restaurant family, at an event of the Chaine de Rotisseurs. And when the Cake Bible was published over 18 years ago, it was Harry who hosted the first press party for it at the Manor. By the time the Pie and Pastry Bible was published I had celebrated several more of my book publication parties at the Manor. And the incomparable Mary Jane Frankel, who is responsible for all the publicity including their publication “Manorisms,” always did a fantastic job rounding up all the local press and organizing the events.
At our first dinner at The Manor Elliott and I enjoyed a tour of the kitchens and we were both awed by this Utopia that addressed every possible comfort and indulgence not just for the guests but also for the staff. I had never before nor since seen a kitchen that had carpeting to make it easier underfoot. When I asked Harry how they maintained it he said “we just tear it up and replace it whenever necessary. It’s worth it because it makes the staff happy.” The pastry chef had a separate air-conditioned kitchen all to himself (believe me this is not the usual case—pastry chefs are usually relegated to the bowls of the restaurant where it is the most hot or an equally hot corner of the kitchen.) We learned that the Manor even has it’s own metal shop which produces and repairs all the copper cookware. And Elliott rejoiced over the substantial dining room chairs with arms which add so much to comfort for dining pleasure.
Continue reading "The Manor’s 50th Anniversary Celebration" »
i just saw my friend Rosanne Gold on the today show, demonstrating two recipes from her new cookbook "cooking for kids" 1-2-3. i 've long felt that in addition to sharing a name, we have a strong aesthetic bond and the proof this time was her apple sauce (the traditional accompaniment to latkes) prepared with apples, brown sugar and cranberries.
since we won't be home for dinner tonight (the first night of hanukka) i got a head start on my latke making a few nights ago. and as i still had some cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving (mine had some fresh ginger in it as well) i literally put 2 and 2 together and came up with the most beautiful and delicious applesauce ever.
uncharacteristically, i didn't measure--i just added the cranberry sauce to taste. really hard to go wrong with this! even using prepared apple sauce and cranberry sauce it will be great and i encourage you to try it.
i'm posting this without the photo (that should appear soon after) so hopefully you'll get it in time for tonight, but after all, hanukka is 8 days so there's plenty of time. oh dear--as i started to write that this cran-apple sauce will be delicious all year round my mind immediately leapt to pork chops--but not this week.
update: here's the photo...
Yes it Works!
Several people have contacted me regarding the article in Wed. Nov. 8, 2006 NY Times: “The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work.” Although the techniques described in the recipe are not new to me, the combination of them was, so I stopped everything I was doing or planning to do Sunday late afternoon and threw myself into dough production. 20 hours later here’s the report: The results are exactly as promised—very large holes in the crumb, light texture, thin crisp crust, and an absolute minimum of MIXING effort.
As far as putting the dough into an extremely hot and heavy pot, I think I’ll stick with other equally effective methods such as a heavy baking stone that holds the heat and ice cubes tossed into a preheated cast-iron pan or perhaps the new device I’m testing that has a relatively light-weight metal lid that also gets preheated and a very effective steaming device to create steam contained by the lid.
The flavor of the bread developed during the long 12-18 hour fermentation (I gave it 15 hours) was indeed superior to a shorter rise with higher amount of yeast but not as good or as deliciously complex as when I add some of my old starter. Also, I would add my usual 7 to 8 % whole wheat or kamut flour for extra flavor and no compromise in texture.
I like the ease of minimal mixing coupled with long slow rise which develops the gluten more gently resulting in the larger holes. I also like the flavor and texture of bran instead of flour on the outside. I intend to try these techniques with my pugliese recipe which has a slighter higher 80% hydration and different mix of flours.
Two important caveats to the Times’ recipe:
I watched the video on the Times’ website and noticed that only 1 1/2 cups of water was used, not 1 5/8 cups as was listed in the printed recipe. The 1 5/8 cups, which is 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablesopons, constitutes an extra 2 tablespoons of water bringing the hydration to 82% as opposed to 75%. Using the 1 1/2 cups of water the dough will be much more manageable, especially for those unaccustomed to handling very sticky doughs.
Also on the video it was recommended that an oven temperature of 500°F. or even higher be used to bake the bread but in the printed recipe a more reasonable 450°F. was listed. I hedged my bets, used 475°F. and after 30 minutes of baking the bottom became slightly over browned toward the blackened stage. (Some people like their crust this dark.) Also, the bread was fully baked (210°F. internal temperature) and the top crust beautifully browned without the need to continue baking it for 15 to 30 minutes as was indicated in the recipe.
I usually wait a week before making any recipe from a newspaper to see if there are any corrections because a weekly paper is under such a heavy deadline pressure there are often little or big glitches! In this case my eagerness to try it overcame my good judgment but luckily someone sent me a link to the video. And that’s the beauty of the baker’s % and weight. Realizing that I had used too much water, all I had to do was rebalance the dough by gently stirring in the additional flour to bring it to 75% hydration and the extra yeast and salt to balance the extra flour. As you can see from the photos—no harm done!
The Cubanos were out of this world! What had been less than moist but flavorful 5 day old pork shoulder came alive with a gilding of mayo, the bread and butter pickles from the farmer's market--less sweet than the usual. The slice of ham was a perfect addition and the melted Swiss cheese bound it all together. But it was the bread that was the star--crisp crust, soft flavorful crumb!
The recipe for the bread is on the Harvest King bread bag and in the Bread Bible and all you have to do to make these great rolls is divide it in 6 (5 ounces/144 grams each) and shape them into 6 inch long batons. They only takes 20 minutes to bake. Cool and split in half horizontally. Heaven!
For the Cubano, it took 10 minutes on medium high in a panini maker and in a 350 oven wrapped in foil, and weighted between two baking sheets with an oven-proof skillet on top it will take about 20 minutes or until the cheese melts.
A house is beautiful not because of its walls, but because of its cakes.
– old Russian proverb
lori sent me this most lovely photo and note, and I had to share it. I also happen to love Russian proverbs and especially this one as being of half Russian heritage it explains much!
I just wanted to share this picture of a cake I made this past weekend, using your recipes! Your charts for scaling the base recipes and how to adjust the baking powder are a lifesaver.Two layers are the all American chocolate butter cake, the other two are the white velvet butter cake layers. All cakes are raspberry filled and finished with buttercream and rolled marshmallow fondant.
A side note to anyone attempting fondant ribbons horizontally... use a hand-crank pasta machine for the skinny ribbons, and for layered ones, assemble them and *then* put them on the cake (I use piping gel brushed on the back)... much easier to get them straight that way.
Believe me, I’m grateful that Elliott takes care of the great outdoors here in Hope so that I can sit on the back porch and write about it! But come late August I get nervous when he starts making threatening noises about mowing the back lawn again and that I’d better pick the flowering garlic chives before he mows them down (he knows this to be an unforgivable offense but still it propels me into action).
Regular chives with round leaves have lavender blossoms which bloom early Summer but garlic chives have flat leaves which I find more flavorful, and delicate white blooms that smell very aromatic and make an exquisite and tasty garnish. They are particularly lovely sprinkled on salads such as this cucumber and onion salad. I also cut the leaves into small slices and freeze them for baked potatoes during the Winter.
My garlic chives plant was given to me by my cousin Marion Bush whose company “Wild Edibles” in Westchester NY supplies wonderful things from ramps to lobster mushrooms to restaurants in the greater NY area. She learned from her mother my Aunt Margaret who in turn learned from our Great Uncle Nat who founded the New England Mycological Society. Years ago Aunt Margaret taught chef Larry Forgione about wild edibles and also provided him with them for his restaurant. She likes to joke about how they used to meet like drug dealers in the early hours of dawn in a parking lot in Long Island as my Uncle David didn’t want it known that she was doing this!
The one plant that Marion gave me over 20 years ago is now growing everywhere except for the spot where I officially planted it, which means we may eventually have a lawn of garlic chives. This does not please Elliott. But look at the bouquet I harvested and decide for yourself!
It reminds me of a sad/funny moment at Uncle Nat’s funeral in the Berkshires. The ground was carpeted with thyme. Aunt Margaret couldn’t resist saying: “Are you supposed to have (a) wild thyme in a graveyard?” Thus carrying on another Uncle Nat tradition…punning.
due to the extraordinary amount of rain we've had this summer and the extraordinary amount of rocks in our soil, one towering cherry tree toppled with a resounding thud missing our house by a mere 3 feet. it served as a major wakeup call that when you live in the forest you need to assess the state of trees that shade the house to keep it cool in summer but can also be a major hazzard. we hired a terrific tree guy to assess what needed to be trimmed or felled and he reduced the toppled cherry tree to wood chips in short order.
My dear friend and culinary colleague Marguerite Thomas and I have been exchanging recipes since the outset of our friendship nearly a decade ago. She came up with a really cute idea for a joint cookbook entitled "e-mail eats"! but she's very busy with projects including travels for her column in "wine news" and www.winereviewonline.com where she and her husband Paul Lukas offer up inspired food and wine pairings. and I'm busy with my upcoming cake book. so I'm going to share one of the best of our "e-mail eats" collection right now while all the summer vegetables necessary for this timeless recipe are at their peak. and I'm going to include the original e-mail because the uniquely casual and friendly charm of Marguerite's writing is not something one finds very often if at all in recipe books!
Marguerite's ratatouille has become a summer tradition. it is superb with grilled leg of lamb or lamb chops and I always freeze little packages to enjoy with pasta during the winter. This is an idea borrowed from my beloved Sicilian friend and colleague Angelica Pulvirenti. She makes this dish for me every summer by sautéeing the vegetables in an ample amount of olive oil and then tossing it with pasta.
This summer, I tried something a little different for the ratatouille. i grilled the egg plant (cut in rounds), zuchinni (cut in half the long way), and peppers—uncut, all brushed well with olive oil. I used high heat, making sure to turn the vegetables and check for doneness to prevent blackening. The slight touch of smoky char was a fantastic addition.
Marguerite's original e-mailed recipe:
Continue reading "The Re-Evolution of a Classic Dish: Ratatouille" »
This is a photo I will always cherish of my new editor Pam Chirls's family's first visit to my house in Hope. They asked for a cake baking lesson and here are the proud results of their just having unmolded a chocolate cake baked in Lékué silicone molds designed with children in mind (though I adore the cute shapes as well).
Since cakes baked in silicone need to cool completely before unmolding, it makes it ideal for kids as it eliminates the danger of burns from hot pans!
Allix and twin Julia are in the back and Isabelle is the one holding the little loaf cake. We also had a cake tasting of Gateau Breton and they were all amazingly helpful comparing the salt version with the no salt.
The best part is that after taking the cakes home, they cherished every crumb making the little cakes last several days and now want to bake their own. This is what every lesson hopes to inspire!
But I suspect that what they'll remember best of all is the big black bear we encountered on a drive through the back roads. Happily we were all in the car at the time. We wanted to take a photo but he moved far too quickly and all we saw was as Allix remarked "his butt," to which I added: "yes—his bear butt."
i've been promising this recipe on the blog for a while, and here it finally is.
the photo is the dough at the point where the corn, cheese, and chilies are being mixed in, which is the point at which you can really start to smell how everything is going to turn out.
YES--it's still real baking!!! but the cake kits contain all the best ingredients that i use for my cakes and the best part is that they are all premeasured (weighed) so all you have to do is soften the butter and add the liquid and eggs.
I am starting with two cakes: a moist buttery french vanilla and a soft rich chocolate. they can be made as 14 to 16 cup cakes or one 9 by 2 inch round cake or one 8 by 2 inch square cake.
there will also be two buttercreams, both containing lyle's golden syrup in just the right amount so that when combined with the sugar packet and brought to a full boil the syrup is the perfect temperature to thicken the egg yolks for a true foolproof classic buttercream.
one buttercream will be french vanilla with a hint of lemon and the other kit will contain a package of valrhona chocolate to melt for adding to the buttercream and valrhona chocolate pearls for decoration. both will have the finest madadgascar french vanilla(eurovanille) contains actual grains of vanilla.
the kits are being produced by my friends sarah leah chase (the reknowned cookbook author) and her husband nigel dyche (pictured here) The other photos are of our booth at the fancy food show where we offered miniature cup cakes samples. all 800 were consumed before the curtain went down on day 3 of the show!
the kits will be available in stores across the country by october--stay tuned for where they will be distributed.
This is the view of the Delaware River and the Gap as seen from atop the old trestle bridge spanning the Delaware between Columbia, NJ and Portland Pa. Most of the bridges between NJ and PA up here are closed due to flooding. I've never seen the Delaware so high, cresting way over the banks, or so quickly flowing/raging it’s way to the ocean. I’ve always wanted to climb the trestle aqueduct bridge and finally here was my excuse!
remember how i bitterly complained about the birds having pecked holes in the sour cherries, leaving them on the ground to rot? well nature once again has proven it's infinite balance! this weekend i discovered 50 perfect bright red unpecked cherries still on the tree! i also found a few currants hidden behind the leaves of the currant bush and overlooked by chipmunks and birds alike. i sprang into action and made what i call a windfall pielet!
i always have some pastry scraps in the freezer so while they were defrosting i pitted the cherries and consulted the chart in my book (the pie and pastry bible) to see how much sugar and cornstarch were needed for each. this is where weighing really comes in handy.
currants need more sugar and more cornstarch than cherries as they are more sour and more juicy as well. i had enough of the small currants to stuff one into each pitted cherry (i call this churrant pie) and the filling turned out to be the equivalent of a 1/4 pie. i used an antique 7 inch red stone pie plate but even a cast iron little skillet would have worked just fine!
we had still slightly warm churrant pie for dessert for dinner and for lunch on sunday. how ironic that the cherry tree i planted in full sun that grew to bear many cherries was struck by lightening, but this scrawny old tree that i didn't even recognize as a cherry tree for many years, hidden in the shade, produced enough cherries at last to enjoy this amazing little treat! by the way, this little pielet took 35 minutes to bake in a 425 degree oven. i protected the edges with foil toward the end. and i didn't prebake the pie crust or the filling--i simply placed the dough leaves on top. it's easier for such a small pie.
the recipe i'm offering here is for a full size one from "the pie and pastry bible."
note: the absolute best way to pit cherries is by hand using a large hairpin. using mechanical devices, the pits which vary in size, can slip through and create a great deal of damage should someone unsuspectingly bite down on one, plus the hair pin technique maintains the beautiful global shape of the cherry. here's how:
search out a large metal hair pin. insert the looped end into the stem end of the cherry and use it to lift out the pit. if you like this technique as much as i do, for future use, imbed the two ends of the hair pin deeply into a cork. i use a champagne cork as it is rounded and fits comfortably into the palm of your hand.
second tip: if you have a wine or root cellar, you can leave the pie dough in it until you are ready to roll it. most cellars are around 60 degree F. which is the ideal temperature at which to roll dough. the sad fact is that when the fresh fruit season is in full swing, it's usually too hot in the kitchen to make a good crust! i recommend countering this by making the dough early in the morning. if it's still cool in the kitchen (or dining/ living room if you are willing to roll it there) proceed to making the pie. otherwise, make the dough early one morning and the pie the following morning for best results.
Elliott and I have been arguing for years about whether the sun ever sets directly in the gap. I took the no 'way' position while he took the 'sooner or later' one. he was right and here's proof. in fact, it only happens two times of the year, around june 10th as the sun is heading north for its longest appearance of the year and again on july 10th on it's way back the other direction.
This year I got really lucky because in the midst of a rainy windy weekend, the sky cleared and the sun sank toward the gap just as we were returning from dinner with my new digital camera in my bag.
One other person was there with no less than 4 cameras. Apparently he's been coming to photograph the event for about as many years as we've been arguing about whether it existed or not! He says it's most dramatic when there are some clouds in the sky. I'll have to go back in July!
When friends come to town and invite me for lunch, asking me to chose the restaurant if it’s downtown in my neck of the woods my mind leaps to Gotham Bar and Grill. if it’s uptown, it’s Alto. And I’ve never been disappointed.
My friend Anna Schwartz, who owns a wonderful art gallery in Melbourne Australia was making one of her all too rare visits last week and staying a mere few blocks from Alto. it was an easy choice. And happily, after something like 15 tests, I had just perfected my ideal of a German chocolate cake for my new book. so I walked up town with two pieces—one for Anna to share with her husband Morry and one for chef Scott Connant.
I’ve finally discovered why writing a negative review is so much easier than the reverse. There’s a certain drama to it. I don’t like sounding negative but I like still less feeling negative. So here goes—at least on the positive side I’ll get it out of my system and perhaps you will be forewarned of what to expect should you chose to plan a trip to this area:
I really was expecting to enjoy the experience. Last time in the Bahamas—about 10 years ago—it was a lot of fun but then we didn’t stay in a humongous amusement park type of hotel like the Atlantis (it should have stayed mythically submerged under seas), nor was it Spring break, nor was the weather stormy every single day making swimming in the ocean impossible. This didn’t seem to stop people from crowding around the many swimming pools but I suspect they were using extra towels to keep warm as there never seemed to be any available by the time my husband was finished with his morning seminars and ready to give the pool experience a chance. There weren’t enough lounge chairs either—not that I like lying around a crowded pool. I guess I was hoping for a secluded beach with the shade of a palm tree and gentle breezes transporting me into a dreamy state, rather than the gales of wailing wind and rain that made me start thinking tsunami one night. The security alarm going off for 10 minutes in the middle of the night for no explained reason didn’t help to assuage my sense of panic and unease.
Our room had a splendid view of the raging ocean and hypnotically staring out to sea was my favorite and most relaxing part of the trip. Unfortunately wireless internet access was available only in the library ($10 for 24 hours no less). Other than the room, this was the one place that was mostly quiet. Everywhere else I don’t think I’ve ever heard this many screaming kids at one time.
[Read about the rest of Rose's trip on the full post page.]
on the recent visit to seattle, for the iacp conference, i had the pleasure of having dinner with my family who live in nearby slohomish. my stepson chose a new restaurant called the crow and we were joined by my dear friend elizabeth karmel (her new book: "taming the flame"--john wiley). all four of us grownups chose the halibut that turned out to be moist and flavorful--in fact the best halibut i've ever tasted. the grandchildren had their usual spaghetti with butter and cheese. but they did ask to smell the cabernet cork. here's evidence:
I know that baking is often perceived as alchemy and magic, but chef Letty Flatt, who is in charge of all baking at the Deer Valley Ski Resort in Utah, really takes the cake. You have to be there to believe the wide variety and exquisiteness of the desserts she creates at altitudes as high as 8200 feet above sea level.
At the Seafood Buffet, a little lower down but not much, there is a selection of about 20 different desserts and one can taste all of them as part of the buffet dinner—in fact there are those who do just that (I came close) My favorite—also Elliott’s--was the baklava batons. Another favorite, the Black Forest Crème Brûlée (see photo) is a magnificent plated dessert served only at the Mariposa restaurant at Silver Lake.
My top favorite, which I can never resist (I returned for it twice) is the ice cream sandwich served at the Café at Silver Lake. I’m usually torn between that and the Frozen Lemon Meringue Pie.
(By the way, they also serve the best crawfish bisque I’ve ever tasted anywhere including New Orleans and an astonishingly good Caesar salad—both of which required a revisit as well.) The ice cream sandwich consists of perfectly creamy vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two terrific chocolate chip cookies, cut into 4 wedges, and served with a little pot of hot fudge sauce for dipping (oh bliss).
Happily the recipe is in Letty’s cookbook “Chocolate Snowball.” No wonder she recently was cited in Salt Lake Magazine's Dining Awards as Best Pastry Chef in Utah 2006!
I used to think I had to go to Europe to eat well at a ski resort but not since we discovered Deer Valley. Now we just keep going back. Usually we stay on the mountain for dinner as the choices are so varied and excellent, but it’s well worth going into Park City—just about 15 minutes away-- to eat at Wahso—a wonderful Asian restaurant with equally appealing décor.
In addition to the great food and staggering beauty of the mountains, we really enjoy the genuine friendliness of the people. Last year, when I wanted to try out snow-shoeing, one of the shop keepers loaned me not only a pair of snowshoes, but also his own gaiters to keep the snow out of my shoes, as none of the stores had them for sale.
There was tons of snow and blue skies this year but I actually forewent a day of skiing for the pleasure of hiking with my friends Letty and Julie Wilson (the director of food and beverage at Deer Valley Resort) who led us up the Sun Peak Trail for an unforgettable experience. It was a rigorous one hour uphill climb on a narrow snowy trail surrounded by pines. I couldn’t chat much as I was too occupied with catching my breath, but it was well worth the effort because the summit gave us a panoramic view of the Canyons ski area that was absolutely breath-taking (in every sense!)
Deer Valley was the dream creation of Stein Erikson—the great ski hero whose elegant style--rear end improbably extending at near right angles from one’s hopefully parallel skis--everyone tried to emulate when I started skiing back in 1961. He still skis every morning and word had it he skied with Dr. Ruth the week we were there. It was probably was more than a rumor as I spotted dear Dr. Ruth at Kennedy airport waiting for her baggage while we were waiting for ours.
But by far the most serendipitous moment of the entire week was discovering at almost the very end of one of the rides up the mountain that the familiar looking person sitting next to me on the lift was the editor of Real Simple Magazine. Disguised as we were by our ski apparel it took that long to realize we recognized each other! I’ve seen her countless times on the Today Show and she’s been baking out of my books for years! Out of 1400 people on the lifts it seemed unimaginably improbably that we should be sitting on the same lift chair. Most delightful was that before I realized it was Elizabeth Mayhew I was charmed by her sweet friendly personality—just the same as she is when she appears on the Today Show.
Before we skied off down the mountain Elizabeth invited me to appear on her new PBS show and I invited her to the press party for the launch of the new Gold Medal artisan style flour (more about this in June!). Life is good!
During the few days of IACP in Seattle last week of March, TIm Bennett Product Manager of Gold Medal Flour (who was the inspiration behind this blog) and I skipped out and drove all the way to Vancouver to experience some of the most creative, spectacular and delicious sushi of our lives. We had the added pleasure of meeting Travis Smith and Susie Gardner of Hop Studios, the designers of our blog, who happen to live in Vancouver.
This is my 5th visit to Tojo's and I warned Tim to eat nothing beforehand because it's impossible to say no to just one more of Tojo's beyond description creations. One of the most interesting and demanding of his culinary feats is to create a sushi that is hot on the inside and cold on the outside. He gently but firmly commands you to use your hands (because touch is part of the experience) and eat it immediately.
There is sake and there is sake and the finest quality, served cold in bamboo containers is a world apart from the ubiquitous hot sake one often encounters.
We made it back to Seattle safely and by 10:30 and with only one eye-opener stop for coffee on the way. By the way, it seems that anywhere coffee is served in the state of Washington, it is strong, mellow, and never bitter.
See six more photos below (on the full post page).
Lisa Yockelson's book "ChocolateChocolate" won the best book in the baking category at the IACP cookbook award ceremony on the evening of April 1!
As presenter of this category, along with my friend and fellow-baker/author Jim Dodge, now of the Getty Foundation, we had the great pleasure of announcing the award to Lisa and an audience of close to 1400.
Photo by Adam Schneider
Afterwards we celebrated with a bottle of champagne with our publisher Natalie Chapman (John Wiley).
Photo by Adam Schneider
A full list of award winners can be viewed on the iacp website http://www.iacp.com
When packing for a business trip I love to start a large bread for my husband to eat while I'm away. Challah is one of his favorites and since it's one of mine as well, I usually manage to eat a few slices myself before slicing, wrapping and freezing the rest. This is the one I made before leaving for Barcelona in February. It's similar to the one in "The Bread Bible" with one wonderful difference: I've discovered that adding some old stiff starter instead of the vinegar does wonders for elasticity making it much easier to braid. It also increases the moistness and shelf life and adds depth of flavor. And because it so exceptionally moist for a challah, the ends of the braids hold together well.
we’re off for our 30th annual ski week at what has long ago become our favorite of all ski resorts: deer valley in utah!
a few years ago, my husband had an accident skiing that prevented him from accompanying me on the slopes for the rest of the week. in all these years of marriage, i had never skied without him so it felt very odd and lonely navigating the mountain on my own. i decided to take a short break and check out the food at the snowflake lodge. somehow, inevitably, i found myself in the kitchen and that put an end to any possible loneliness at deer valley! letty flatt, who is in charge of all bakery operations at the many restaurants at deer valley, also took charge of me! on her time off we skied together and she introduced me to double black diamonds that i could handle with ease. on the chair lift we exchanged bake-talk and royal icinged (baker’s cement) a lasting friendship.
last year, at a marvelous dinner at mariposa—the high-end restaurant on the mountain—we were served a bread that both my husband and i adored. it was, of course, letty’s, but she immediately credited peter reinhart for the original recipe. comparing the two i saw that letty had used 5 times the polenta. i decided to double the original amount of polenta but also added 90 grams more flour. neither letty nor i added the optional 3 tablespoons of cooked brown rice simply because i didn’t feel like making rice just to make this bread and found it was so delicious without it i’ve yet to try it with the rice—but i will.
the first time i made this bread back at low altitude in new york city i e-mailed peter immediately saying i was proud to be in the same profession as he. he graciously e-mailed back thanking me for reminding him about one of his very favorite breads—which is now mine as well. and as toast it is unequaled. toasting seems to bring out the sweet nuttiness of the grains. the texture is—well—perfect is the word that comes to mind. judge for yourselves by the photo. and the golden specks of coarse polenta add a jewel like quality. it doesn’t get better than spread with sweet butter but the other night i served it for dinner spread with mustard mayonnaise and filled with sardines sprinkled with lemon juice. it deserved the glass of trimbach frederique emile alsatian riesling that accompanied it. gloriously simple and wholly satisfying.
Click to see the flecks!
as i now am inclined to do with most of my breads, i’ve added a small amount of old stiff sourdough starter (the consistency of bread dough) to increase shelf life and add depth of flavor and extra moistness. if you chose not to add the starter decrease the salt by 1/8th teaspoon.
Click to view the recipe
i'm delighted to announce that my dear friend and colleague lisa yockelson's glorious book ChocolateChocolate has been nominated in in the baking category. the award ceremony will be held on april 1 at the international association of culinary professionals conference in seattle washington. by a happy coincidence, i will be the presenter of the awards in the baking category.
below is a photograph taken the day before the nominations announcement, of me (left), our beloved editor pam chirls of wiley, and lisa
photo by adam schneider
Here are several images of Rose you can use. You can preview them on the individual entry page (after the jump).
You're going to love this: I've made my first faile
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