When I think of a bake sale, I expect to see cakes and pies, cupcakes and cookies. When I walked into my son’s school here in Marietta, I was horrified at what I found. Continue reading
Baking Contest for Kid’s Hunger Benefit
Last night at the Le Cordon Bleu School in Atlanta, there was a fantastic bake sale and competition for the No Kid Hungry benefit for Share Our Strength. There were some amazing entries in categories for Childrens, Amateurs, Culinary Students and Professionals. Jenn Hobby of Q100′s The Bert Show, who emceed the event. Prize money was donated by Domino Sugar, C&H Sufar and Duncan Hines. Judges included, Mamie Doyle, owner of Mamie’s Cupcakes in marietta, Ga., Broderick Smylie, founder of Savory Exposure blog, Jenny Turkness, Atlanta Journal-Constitution food blogger and critic, Sonia Chopra, editor of Eater Atlanta. Also to thank is Evelyn Mims, associate producer for 11Alive tv and children’s judge Lizzie Marie, who is only 12 years old and a local food blogger! Wow, that’s great!
Share Our Strength (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Some incredible sites and tastes to behold. I do not envy the judges for the tremendous tasks of eating more sugar than one person should eat in a single night. Oh, who are we kidding…I wish that I was one of the judges and I certainly had my share of sugar last night. What would you like for dinner? Chocolate, chocolate or perhaps some Ricotta and Goat cheese Meyer Lemon cheesecake? If I am not mistaken, I do believe that the cheesecake took home a prize.
and then of course, there was mine. It was enjoyed by the crowds but apparently not by the judge(s). So, next year I will just make a cake. I was going to call it step one, however, this is really how it looked when I took the ring off. Quite amazed that the mascarpone cream filled in the sides too. I would have liked to see the cookies that I laboriously made by hand.
Anyway, I frosted it with a stiff ganache and then sided it with more cookies and a coffee flavored ribbon of fondant. After the ribbon was in place, I added raspberries and a chocolate filled fondant leaf, a fondant No Kid Hungry logo and some white stripes that I was told made it look professional.
Congratulations to all who entered, the prize winners and most of all a big thank you to the foundation for all the hard work that went into the benefit.
My Chocolate Chip Cookies Are Wrinkled
Last night, we received our grades on our chocolate chip cookies and I only got a 24 out of 25. The problem? I didn’t cream my butter and sugar long enough. Who knew that it mattered how long you ran the mixer to cream the butter and sugar. The solution sounds easy enough. Continue reading
Le Cordon Bleu: Let the games begin!
Although the last six weeks were great, I am finally where I want to be. Starting my second rotation, I am in the kitchen baking. On Monday, our new instructor showed us how to make chocolate chip cookies and explained all the how’s and why’s. On Tuesday, we were in the kitchen making them ourselves. Next Monday, we have to produce them again, however, with no instructions from anyone. If you’re thinking what’s the big deal, it’s just a cookie, then let me explain…
A Future in Motocross?
When my son was 3 years old, he decided that he wanted to ride a dirt bike like his daddy. Imagine your surprise as a woman who grew up on the beach to hear a small child say, “I ride my bike!” Such determination and knowing at such a young age. And, so he did. Continue reading
Orientation-Check!
My first official day of school at Le Cordon Bleu isn’t until Monday however, yesterday I picked up my uniforms and tools and so starts the journey. I am so excited that I can’t stand it. As I write, the uniforms are being cleaned and starched. After that, I’ll hem them and get ready to be the best of the best.
More later friends.
Bastille Day at Le Cordon Bleu (Photo credit: MarkScottAustinTX)
Messy Icing
Casey from Michigan writes: I tried to make my own icing yesterday and it was really lumpy when I added the butter to the egg whites. What did I do wrong and can it be fixed?
Well, Casey, this is one problem that’s really not a problem and easily fixed. There are actually a couple of things that you could have done. If you haven’t already thrown out the icing, it’s not even too late!
It sounds like your butter was too cold. If you have already added all of your powdered sugar and whipped it for a few minutes, yet it’s still lumpy, then you can try heating the bowl over a pot of hot water. If you saved the icing in the fridge, then try whipping it again first. If that doesn’t do the trick, then go ahead and heat over the pot of hot water until it blends smoothly, making sure not to submerge the bowl into the water.
TIP: On the other hand, if your icing is too wet, then your egg whites were not fully cooled. The way to fix this is to place the bowl of icing into the fridge for a few minutes and then return to the mixer. Voila!
Happy Baking!
Gluten Free Pear Layer Cake
A friend sent me this recipe and it sounded absolutely amazing. Her friend requested that she make it for an upcoming wedding so I figured that I had the time to try making it and see how it came out. The recipe is written in regular form, with the comment to use buckwheat flour for a gluten free cake. Since I really don’t care for buckwheat, I decided to use sorghum. I also decided to use egg replacer in the cake since the mother of the bride may or may not eat eggs. Continue reading
Crispy Enchilada Cups
While making enchiladas the other day, I had left over meat and sauce with no more room left in the pan. This gave me the idea to try making a version in my ramekins. Here’s what you do:
Heat up the tortilla shells one a time in the microwave so that they were extra soft and form them into the dishes. Sprinkle mexican cheese blend (or whatever cheese you have or like) into each dish and bake until the shells are golden brown. (My oven was at 350degrees) Once the tortilla shells come out, you can remove them from the cups or leave them in and fill with the seasoned meat, more cheese if you like, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and cilantro, or whatever you like to eat! They not only make a tasty snack/meal, the presentation is beautiful!
*Ingredients for enchilada sauce:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 2 cups water
- 1 8 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Preparation:
Heat the oil, flour and chili powder together in a large pot. Allow to cook for a minute or two.Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a slow simmer. Stir well to combine and dissolve tomato paste in water. Allow to cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more spices as desired.
*Thanks to about.com for the recipe
Are You Too Big To Fly?
The other day I read an article in the Huffington Post about “fat” passengers on commercial aircraft and just couldn’t leave it alone. As a long time flight attendant, I have seen ever shape and size passenger on many different types of aircraft. I have met these passengers and I can say that each and every one of them were very nice. Unfortunately, a persons’ demeanor is not the point here. Continue reading