Pastry chefs have been using this method for making quick sponge cake for years. As far as I know Albert Adria invented it years ago at El Bulli in Spain. I saw him “cook” it in a microwave on Anthony Bourdain’s “Decoding Ferran Adria“. I’ve never managed to give it a shot because until recently I did not have […]
Instant Sponge Cakes Read More »
This is basically a gratuitous picture post. I bake bread a couple of times a week and it is normally excellent, but every so often it is something spectacular. This is especially true when I bake a sublime batch of sourdough from my own starter. It’s also pretty cool that the starter is older than my
I’ve made a lot of ice cream and this one is one of the most memorable and delicious. It’s flavor is very much close to Amaretto but much better. Cherry pits are what is supposedly used to make almond extract and is used to flavor marzipan. It’s nutty and has a complex bitter edge that I
Cherry Pit Ice Cream (Noyaux) Read More »
The decision was made a while back by my 6-year-old that the cake for Mother’s Day will have lots of strawberries. So that was that. Diana had to choose if she wanted it chocolate mousse based or “something white and lighter”. She went for the latter choice. This delicious cake is a perfect spring time cake and a
A Cake for Mom: Strawberry Ricotta Cake Read More »
I’ve posted in length about quiche, specifically about the fantastic Bouchon quiche from Thomas Keller. So this is a bit of a gratuitous post, but what the heck, it’s my blog and I love it everytime this quiche turns out so well. besides, these pictures are way better than those from the older post. This one is a
A classic flavor presented in a very untraditional and delicious way, classic Thomas Keller. Here we have sweet crepes, filled with a mixture of white chocolate and poached pureed bananas. I poached the bananas in a mixture of cream and milk until soft. The poaching liquid is then used to make a custard base for
I was pretty happy that the Saints made it to the Super Bowl this year, but I honestly did not think they would actually win! That was a fantastic game. Either way I knew I’d be making some good food to match the Saint’s home state. The main course was gumbo. This one is shrimp,
Super bowl XLIV: Gumbo and Sweet Potato Pie Read More »
Just like the venison dish I posted about earlier, this dessert happened because of Diana. More specifically, it was because of her dislike of gingerbread cookies. Earlier in December I had made some gingerbread cookie dough in hopes of making gingerbread men with my son, however Diana was sure that he will not like those
Gingerbread, Pumpkin and Walnut-Pear-Bourbon Ice Cream Read More »
Delicious tarts cobbled up with what I had in the pantry and fridge. The dough is a simple 3-2-1 (flour-butter-liquid) with egg yolks making up half of the liquid and ice water the rest. I also added some vanilla sugar for flavor and to help brown the baked pastry. I baked them blind till completely
Tarts – Mixed Berry and Caramelized Banana Read More »
Every year I look forward to cooking with winter squashes in the fall. It really is a pleasure to go to the store and see all the different varieties of squash, from the large cool looking decorative ones to the smaller delicious butternut squash. A favorite fall dish of ours, and last night’s dinner, is ravioli
Pumpkin-Olive Oil Cake and Buckwheat Ice Cream Read More »