Gourmet tips news

As a result of the restaurant being closed for New Year's, I've had the opportunity to catch up on my food magazines. I just recently received the January issue of Gourmet, it's a nice issue, this month they featured Southern food. Which I find to be comfort food, specially in winter, so after reading the magazine from cover to cover I set out to make the caramel cake. The caramel cake I usually make is a two layer cake filled and frosted with caramel. Quite a production to make and one that cannot be made on a very humid or rainy day because the caramel will never set. When I saw the very simple cake they featured I could not wait to try it. The cake is very light and the caramel has just the right amount of sweetness. The cake is light and the caramel is just drizzled on top. I followed the recipe almost exactly, this is the link to Epicurious in case you have a recipe box at the site and want to save it. It is definetely a keeper, the only change I made was I continued...

It seems like every year after Christmas, I am ready for winter to be over and Spring to begin. Unfortunately, that isn't the way it works and even though it's not exactly freezing outside, it is chilly and damp enough enough to remind me it is still December and we at least have 3 more months of this. This is also the time of year I get more than a little restless and come down with a massive case of wanderlust- the root of this is that I really wish I was at the beach right now. So of course I am craving the foods I eat at the beach- my corn and tomato salad, but neither of the main ingredients is at it's prime right now so I will have to wait not only for the salad, but for the beach as well. Last night I was looking through all the magazines I haven't had a chance to go through for the last month. My favorite is Australian, Donna Hay, which really isn't helping matters at all since it is Summer in Australia and the magazine reflects it. So, this morning I compro...

Alfajores are my favorite childhood cookies, they are a very crumbly shortbread like cookie filled with caramel, preferably Cajeta (Argentinian milk caramel) then rolled in powdered sugar. I had not had much luck when making alfajores, they just never seemed to turn out right. Recently a friend gave me her recipe, but they they didn't come out like hers, which are very good. I think the problem was in the measurements, the cornstarch was in grams while others ingredients were in cups, sort of the type of recipe you need the original baker to make with you the first time and since I am many countries away from from her I had to figure it out for myself. Once I knew what the problem was, (they had too much cornstarch) I was easily able to fix it. So I made batch number two and I think they are just delightful- if I do say so myself! Notes: When cutting the cookies out, do it as closely as possible and use as little flour as you can without the dough sticking to the table. You can onl...

A little late...but, better than never I suppose. I did not think I would have time to make the Daring Baker's Challenge for December, Buche Noel, but at the last minute I ended up making it on Christmas day morning. We did all the Santa stuff and gift opening really early, as Jack woke at 5:15 AM- (yes, you read that correctly). I had made the meringue mushrooms on Sunday so the cake and icing were quick. I read many of the posts by the other bakers regarding the Swiss Merngue curdling, I think it all depends on the speed of the mixer. I find it does look curdled for a bit- but then you beat it until it cannot be beat anymore and it pulls together again into a smooth satiny cream. The cake was delicious, I filled it with a white chocolate pastry cream which I made a little loose on purpose so the cake would stay very moist and I added 8 oz melted dark chocolate to the icing at the end. Since I was also serving it to children and I was afraid they would not care for the coffee flav...

Palmiers, also known as Elephant Ears are my favorite cookie to accompany my cafe au lait. I only drink coffee when it's cold out, as I don't like hot beverages when it's hot and this morning finally--it turned cold. Yesterday it was 82 degrees and I was wearing flip flops, today I was totally bundled up! So I woke this morning and decided to make palmiers to have with my coffee. Making palmiers is quite a simple task, that is- if you use pre-made puff pastry. (yes, I cheat). A few notes: watch them carefully, they burn quickly. When turning them mid-way through baking, make sure you wear an oven mitten...the sugar is hot hot. I now have a pretty big bo-bo as a result of not wearing the oven mitten and using a towel instead. Lastly, transfer the Palmiers to a rack right after baking, so they don't continue to brown and stick to the pan. Palmiers 1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry 2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Set oven to 450 degrees Allow puff pastry ...

Today we celebrated Jack's 6th birthday, this is his cake- a pirate cake. If you read my blog on a regular basis then you know that life is pretty insane this month. But, birthdays cannot be postponed or rescheduled so a birthday party in December it is. The cake came from Zoe's Bakery in Covington and this is no ordinary bakery. They are very talented and obviously love what they do so I trust that whatever they make will always make me happy. I have never been disappointed with the results and I can tell you, I am not all that easy to please when it comes to cakes. My theory is if I don't have time to make something wonderful I better put it in the hands of someone who can. Someone who will make something so outrageously cool, that it won't matter at all that I didn't make it. I tend to not do anything half-way, it's just not in my nature. I also knew that with the week past, there was no way I could make something I would be happy with. My plan worked, jac...

Did you think I forgot about the blog? I did not, far from it, but life gets in the way- actually not life...just work! But, do not misunderstand me, I feel ever so blessed and lucky to have the business I do, it's just at this time of the year I would rather be at home listening to Christmas carols and baking cookies! Sunday I have earmarked to do just that. In the meantime here is my scone and lemon curd recipe. I've been making it for quite a long time...it's from my tea room days and on Monday I had a catering which involved afternoon tea. The tea was lovely, made me miss serving tea for about 3 seconds- then I remembered why I stopped and got right on over it. The scones freeze very well, I actually make them to freeze, then pull them out as needed. The lemon curd I made with the last of my Meyer lemons and it's very yummy. I was sort of sad I used the last of my home grown lemons, but I know where to get more. Turns out my dad thought that the citrus would spoil i...

Yes, I know the posts are getting a little further apart lately, but things are hectic- to say the least! I have actually been baking and cooking a lot lately, but as much as I would like to, there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything documented and photographed. I am catering a few parties this weekend which means I have a lot of assorted bite size desserts to make between now and Friday. This morning I made Mexican wedding Cake Cookies, they are almost like a shortbread, buttery and flavored with toasted pecans, cinnamon and vanilla; they are sometimes called pecan balls or Russian tea cakes. I use a special powdered sugar called Snow White sugar for sprinkling the cookies after they bake, I get it in 25 pound bags for the restaurant, but you can get it in a one pound bag from King Arthur Flour. What's great about this sugar is it doesn't really melt so the cookies stay Snow White-- just as the name says. I used to make them with regular powdere...