Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

During a recent DVD planning visit to Gold Medal Flour/General Mills in Minneapolis I finally had the pleasure to meet Marie and family in person. Of course after reading her extraordinarily expressive and entertaining blog www.breadbasketcase.blogspot.com I felt like I already knew Marie very well. And amazingly she was exactly and delightfully like her blog voice! By the way, her daughter Sarah is just like her which means she is also very much her own voice and person! Her comment about our meeting (afterwards) was "like two peas in the pod!" (Better than two loaves in the oven right?!)

I was planning to do a full report but what with the copy editing swallowing up every waking second she beat me to it! So I encourage you to make a visit to her blog (it's the April 10th posting) and you will read not only her take on the evening but also see her husband Jim's excellent photos and several comments including my own!

From the kitchen of Rose on 05.17.08 at 2:22 PM in Special Stories
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Phase 6 Copy Editing

This is the awful one and I always forget just how awful. Foolishly I look forward to having the “baby” back. I also suffer from the illusion that I have submitted a manuscript that is in perfect shape. My illusions are shattered with amazing speed. Take a look at a sample of a copy edited page and you’ll begin to understand what the author is up against—especially the author of a cookbook and most especially the author of a detailed baking book.

The production editors notes are in grey pencil, the copy editor’s in red, and mine in purple.

Continue reading "Book Production Phase 6 Copy Editing" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 05.10.08 at 10:00 AM in Special Stories
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Phase 5 April 2008 Photography
This is always my favorite moment in book production. It must be akin to a playwright getting to see her play enacted with a full cast of the characters she has envisioned. It’s scary and thrilling at the same time.

This was the first session of what will probably be two, possibly three. But I doubt if we will repeat 10 days in a row of about 6 cakes a day. This was my first experience with professional digital food photography and what a fascinating process. Food stylist Liz Duffy brought two assistants and loads of ingredients and equipment.

Liz Primping the Cake for the Camera

A Small Sampling of the Groceries

Roy Finamore, a long time friend, who was one of the senior editors of Clarkson Potter is now a prop stylist. He contributed infinitely more than inspired props—he majorly participated in the over-all look of the photos, carefully considering how they should appear in relation to where they would be placed in the book.

Photographer Ben Fink repeatedly turned out such astonishingly beautiful photographs every day was a new surprise and joy. I brought my knitting and only succeeded in doing one row in 10 days. Every time I turned away from the set I regretted it as I found I needed to be present to ensure that the cakes reflected the recipes in the book. Liz is the most meticulous and devoted food stylist plus a former pastry chef but producing 6 or more photo worthy cakes a day was a challenge I myself could not have managed and I was grateful that my recipes were in good enough shape that there were no errors or time wasted due to mistakes. Still, we ended up with what was supposed to be an ice cream sandwich as an ice cream cake. It was so beautiful I rewrote the recipe to include both.

I learned several great tricks from Liz and her long time assistant Jan which I will include in the book. One was how to make the top of a cake baked in a fluted tube pan look as a perfect and without air pockets as much as possible. They filled the pans about one inch full with batter and then used the back of a spoon with a side to side motion to press the batter into the grooves of the pan before adding the remainder of the batter. Priceless! And what was poly grip denture cream doing on the baking cart? Turns out it’s the perfect food safe glue for everything from fallen cake crumbs to broken pie crust.

Another exciting learning experience was when the pears in the almond cream pear cake ended up at the top of the cake instead of sinking toward the bottom where they were supposed to land. The entire cake was a brown color that it had never been before. After much Sherlock Holmesing I discovered that the almond cream, when mixed just a little too long, breaks down and infiltrates through the cake batter turning it a deeper color and changing the texture so that the pears are suspended at the top!

Next session is projected to be the last two weeks of July. I’ll be leaving my knitting at home! And now on to the copy editing of the 760 page manuscript which is why you won't be hearing much from me for the next few weeks!

(More photos on the full post page)

Continue reading "Production of Rose’s Heavenly Cakes Part 2" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 04.26.08 at 10:22 AM in Special Stories
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I love champagne. Not all champagne but in a blind taste test Dom Perignon always wins for me. Inexpensive champagne hurts my stomach, partially from acidity and partially from the large bubbles. I’d rather have prosecco.

When it comes to opening a bottle of champagne I’m always nervous—more so when it’s not me opening it, and with good cause. I still remember dinner at an elegant restaurant owned by the famous French chef known primarily for his pastries and gorgeous leather bound cookbooks—Yves Thuries, in the medieval town of Cordes in the south of France. I heard a pop from way across the room and then like a missile the cork whizzed by the left side of my face missing my eye by about 3 inches. And they never even offered me a sip of it as apology. In fact they didn’t even offer an apology of any sort.

Happened again last month at one of the top restaurants in NY. I heard the pop—this time within 6 feet of where I was sitting—and within a split second the cork hit the back of my neck. Of course I screamed and after regaining my composer said: “I hope it’s at least Dom Perignon.”(Ah my prophetic soul—here’s the evidence.)

I informed the apologetic and somewhat horrified sommelier that I was keeping the cork in the tradition of spectators who catch a misdirected baseball at a game. i didn't ask for a signature since i wasn't sure exactly who was responsible for opening that bottle.

OK guys—this is inexcusable. Do I have to wear a catcher’s mask when I dine out? But the main reason I’m telling this tale is to warn you that when removing the little wire cage from the cork you should, at the same time, firmly hold down the cork. I know it seems like it’s in there solid but believe me the pressure of the champagne could well be enough to dislodge it without any encouragement whatsoever on your part (this has happened to me). The proper technique for opening champagne is to have the bottle upright on a solid surface, then to hold the cork firmly in one hand while you rotate the bottle with the other, thus gradually releasing the pressure and twisting out the cork. I like to use a little device called a champagne star that looks like a Ninja weapon. It fits into the groves of the champagne cork holding the cork in place. I also like to use a “perfecto nut cracker” that doubles as a great device to secure the cork. But if neither is available I’ll use my hand or hand it over to my husband and still avert my face. After all, one can’t be too careful when it comes to these things. Seriously.

From the kitchen of Rose on 04.19.08 at 11:38 AM in Special Stories
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Each book (and there have been eight before this one!) my husband says: “write down the production process so you will know what to expect for the next one.” And each time I’m far too busy participating in the production to do it. But now I’m going to do it for YOU. So if you’re interested in following the progress, put a check mark in the box Let me know if someone adds a comment and you will be alerted to new comments (mine will be in pink). That way those who are not interested won’t be bothered with new postings

Continue reading "Production of "Rose's Heavenly Cakes"" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 03.01.08 at 9:49 AM in Special Stories
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Those of you who attended my presentation at NYU Experimental Cuisine Collaborative may remember that I began with a discussion of science vs. alchemy and the following definitions:

1) an early, unscientific form of chemistry that sought to change base metals into gold and discover a life-prolonging elixir, a universal cure for disease, and a universal solvent alkahest

2) a power supposedly like alchemy, especially of enchantment or transformation (don’t you adore this definition!)

I also mentioned that ‘some people’ think that baking is alchemy. The ‘some people’ I had in mind included my husband Elliott. But I couldn’t say this because he was in the audience!

Afterwards I told him that I was referring to him and he said “yes—I knew that—but you always misunderstood. I didn’t mean it as a bad thing but as a good thing. I have little respect for scientific theories alone—it is the people who actually perform the experiments, i.e. the alchemists who understand…”

Thirty two years of marriage and it took this presentation to understand an important issue between the two of us. All these years I had been assuming that he was putting me down on some level and it was quite the contrary. I’m telling you, dear bloggers, communication is surely the source of most of the world’s problems. Anyway, let us all continue to be alchemists and “enchant and transform” our world.

From the kitchen of Rose on 02.24.08 at 11:01 AM in Special Stories
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I found this photo of me and my newphew Alex taken for my book Rose's Celebrations about 15 years ago! It wasn't the one used in the book so i had to photograph the photograph. but i couldn't resist sharing this with you. Those of you who have ever been a boy of 8, or had a boy of 8, or have a boy of 8 will find it quite familiar!

From the kitchen of Rose on 01.12.08 at 3:50 PM in Special Stories
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There’s no time I enjoy living in New York more than December. (By the way, when a New Yorker says New York it means New York City.) Though the city is dramatic and often beautiful in all seasons, it is at its most spectacular when dressed for the holidays.

This week I walked uptown to a fascinating Austrian wine and food pairing from the Burgenland. As it was only two blocks away from Rockefeller Center I paused to enjoy the newly lit tree for 10 full minutes, with the same wide-eyed wonder as all the tourists surrounding me. I think the tree was all of 80 feet high but rose to 84 feet with the placement of the magnificent Swarovski crystal star on top.

The Austrian wine and food pairing was most successful because it demonstrated dramatically how the wine changes with the food that accompanies it. I loved the Heinrich St. Laurent 2005 by itself and with the Viennese fried chicken and especially with the accompanying sauce of lingonberries, but not when I sipped it with the Kobe beef roast where the Weninger Blaufränkisch Reserve 2003 which initially I had found quite closed suddenly blossomed. But the two biggest surprises were the sparkling grüner veltliner that went with all the hors d’oeuvres but was also extremely enjoyable by itself as was the Kracher 2003 TBA (short for trockenbeerenauslese for those who fear pronouncing it or want to boast extreme familiarity). Many people refer to this dessert wine as liquid gold and this particular one deserved the name in full. In fact it was so perfectly balanced between refreshing acidity and honeyed apricot sweetness it needed nothing at all to accompany it other than a willingness to fall to one’s knees in gratitude (difficult to do when seated).

Continue reading "New York City at Its Finest Hours" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 12.01.07 at 11:17 AM in Announcements
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Photo Credit: Gourmet Traveler, Chris Chen

Alain Ducasse

This story was published originally in the L.A. Times Syndicate and now follows Part 1 of the trip that has never before been published anywhere!

It is a sort of inside joke amongst food professionals that we “sacrifice our bodies for our profession.” The truth, however, is that we are only partially kidding. Although professional wine tasters are not expected to swallow all the wine they evaluate and thereby become alcoholic, food tasters are not usually provided with the same means to chew and discard (or as it’s known in the industry without mincing words: spit). We are therefore often in situations which become the epitome of a mixed-blessing: the food may be an extraordinary delight to the senses but we are also paying the price of suffering by consuming an excess of calories, thereby doing repeated damage to our health and well-being. Eating small tastes would be the obvious solution but the seductive conspiracy of conviviality, politeness and wine-induced abandon inevitably lead to overindulgence.

Continue reading "Post Provence—Part 2" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 09.29.07 at 10:33 AM in Special Stories
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When I was taking a required course in philosophy in college some years ago, I chose this as the subject of my term paper. It was actually my second choice as I didn’t have the guts to go with my first choice which was to write 10 Platonian inspired words as follows: “Words cannot express all that I learned in this class.”

The professor said that he would have given me an A had I dared that. I got the A anyway but with a lot more work. No regrets though—the concept I had chosen gave me a lot to think about.

Écart is a French word that someone taught me many years ago. I don’t think there is one single word for it in English. And it is a word that has become more and more relevant to me as I view the heightened hype beloved by our culture. What is real? Hard to tell. I’m fortunate in that what I do has a tangible proof of reality as in “the proof is the pudding.” It’s a complex issue for sure, but when I happened to read an article about Peter Mayle who wrote “A Year in Provence” the article of which implied that he is still living there to the great joy of everyone around including himself it reminded me of a wonderful experience we had 13 years ago on a visit to the Luberon which gives credence to the fact that truth is stranger than fiction and makes one wonder why hype or illusion should even be necessary!

Continue reading "Écart: The Gap between Illusion and Reality" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 09.22.07 at 10:15 AM in Special Stories
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A fellow blogger asked me to post a photo of my Dad's patch work quilt barn and fortunately my cousin Elizabeth Granatelli went up to visit a few weeks ago and took these photos. One is of her 91 year old Mom (my Dad's first cousin Helen) and my Dad in front of the barn.

Elizabeth fell in love with Shadow's three kittens and took this beautiful photo of Shadow with one of them. My father calls her cat but when he told me that she follows him like a shadow I gave her that name. She's so devoted to him she left her kittens and found him at quite a distance in the barn, way up in the loft. I don't know whether to be more impressed by her ability to bound up the tall ladder in seconds or his to hoist himself up far past the last rung of the ladder. He told me he wouldn't let me do that and honestly I wouldn't even be tempted to try.

Continue reading "Dad's Barn in Grafton" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 09.17.07 at 8:25 PM in Special Stories
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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:

From the kitchen of Rose on 08.18.07 at 10:19 AM in Special Stories
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my father, robert maxwell levy, has just turned 93 and he is finally living his dream. he regrets not having the energy to do all he was planning such as setting up a blacksmith shop (he has the anvil but not the forge—yet), or producing bird houses for sale on the internet, but how many people get to complain about anything at 93 years of age!

as a boy growing up in the bronx he dreamt about living off the land—i think this is now called sustainable agriculture. about 20 years ago he came closer to this vision when he bought a huge hip-roof barn and several acres of land in upstate new york and persuaded my mother to leave new york city. they lived in an airstream trailer while he reroofed the barn using affordable batches of mixed shingles he bought at an auction, placed randomly, and was photographed by the troy times record atop his roof, and described as a local artist who had created a patchwork quilt roof. it has become a scenic destination.

Continue reading "Cooking and Baking Marathon for Dad" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 08.04.07 at 10:10 AM in Special Stories
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for those of you who have been asking how to thicken sour cherries into jam, i have some important information for you that may help---if not this year, for next year. it comes with a story i can’t resist telling:

yesterday, i called a neighbor whose number was posted on a sign by the road advertising eggs and produce. i’m always on the prowl for fresh eggs and it’s been several years since i’ve found a source in hope.

to my delight, walt menegus called me back saying he had a huge supply. we started talking baking and it turned out his wife maria bakes, cans, and happened to have a cherry pie sitting on the table at that very moment.

we wasted no time in driving over and what a paradise we discovered on hope crossing road, a road we traveled over a hundred times, never seeing what lay behind the pine trees! we were invited in for a piece of pie and to our mutual delight discovered that it was my recipe from a rodale cookbook to which i had contributed many years ago!

Continue reading "Cherry Jam" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 07.07.07 at 11:12 AM in Special Stories
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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.

Continue reading "My First and Worst Cake" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 06.23.07 at 11:08 AM in Cakes
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I can't believe I omitted from the list my dear friends rick and deanne bayles of frontera in chicago--one of my favorite restaurants in the country. They won the Outstanding Restaurant Award and this was especially meaningful as this happens to be the restaruant's 20 anniversary!

From the kitchen of Rose on 05.08.07 at 9:15 AM in Special Stories
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Never have I enjoyed a Beard Award Gala as much as the 20th anniversary celebration last night. From the moment I stepped onto the red carpet at 5:45 to the moment I went dashing out at 11:30 to beat the crowd pouring out of the Metropolitan Opera to grab a taxi and telephone a full report to my friend and colleague Lisa Yockelson in Washington, D.C. it was one happy moment after another.

I remembered back 19 years to the award ceremony in New York when I won book of the year for the Cake Bible. The awards were hosted by the Seagrams Co. and though certainly ranking as one of the happiest moments of my life, there was no where near the drama of last night’s black tie event held at the most appropriate of all possible venues: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It perfectly reflected the evolution of food in this country.

Chocolate Sculpture and Desserts Presented by Le Cordon Bleu International

Continue reading "The Beard Awards 2007" »

From the kitchen of Rose on 05.08.07 at 8:09 AM in Special Stories
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