March 2011
14 posts
3 tags
Bolognese for some Homemade pasta
Every month a few friends get together and cook at a friends loft in Bushwick. We call the food party: Chez Bushwick. Sometimes we livestream it, some times there are 50 people who stop by for food. And sometimes its just an intimate group. I usually bring dessert, and did (that lemon tart with candied lemons was, in fact, for this) but I also like to try my hand at something savory. I made a...
3 tags
Tangerine Tart with Candied Lemons on Top
This Tangerine Tart, I’ve made before, this time though, half way through the baking, I added the candied lemons to the top. I let it sit/cool for a few hours and it came out really pretty. This crust, really is pretty amazing. I’m going to use it again for something, just not sure exactly what yet…
Ingredients for the Crust
*2 cups all-purpose flour
*3/4 cup powdered...
3 tags
Candied Lemons & Lemon Pops!
I’m trying to make my Tangerine Tart look prettier. So I thought that maybe adding the candy lemons on top would be a nice touch… The night before I had to make the tart, I candied the lemons because I was told they needed 24 hours to dry. My friend Martina came over, took some photos with me and kept me company while these suckers soaked. It was fun and pretty easy. I’m...
2 tags
Boston Cream Pie - Take Two
After making this Boston Cream Pie a few weeks ago, a friend requested it for her birthday cake. Well. I love making birthday cakes and I got some great advice from a reader, Emily on the last post, I thought, why not try again.
This time you’ll see that the cakes were perfectly round without ridges! Yay, and I poured the chocolate a bit more evenly.
4 tags
Zucchini Ricotta Tart
I have a few group of friends that throw dinner parties. And I love it cause it not only does it give me an excuse to cook, it means there will be people to actually taste the food! I actually thought this was bit bland, but it went really fast.
Ingredients
Crust
*1 1/4 Cup Flour
*1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Corn Starch
*1/4 teaspoon Salt
*6 tablespoons Butter Diced
...
4 tags
Savory Pumpkin Spiced Marshmallows
Continuing on my marshmallow journey, I decided to try and make a savory Marshmallow. I based it off of this recipe I saw on Serious Eats. This is the first batch that really came out perfect and I really believe its cause I didn’t put them in the refrigerator. It seems that’s why my past marshmallows were getting too wet and mushy.
Ingredients
*1 Cup pumpkin puree
*1/2 Cup...
2 tags
Homemade Lavender Marshmallows
Homemade Marshmallows are a constant challenge for me and my favorite party trick. I seem to always get distracted though and slightly mess them up. I’m learning that it is really important to follow the temperature and measurement exactly or the marshmallows will either be too mushy or have kernels of sugar.
I also learned that I can be creative with how I bloom the gelatin. In this...
2 tags
Pretzel Rolls
I went to Switzerland over the holidays and just loved sandwiches on Pretzel rolls. I’ve been dreaming of them and decided to give them a try. This was way harder than I expected and took forever to make 8, though I could probably make 24 in the same amount of time if I had the oven space and pans. I based the rolls off of this Pretzel Roll recipe.
I don’t have many pictures, cause I...
3 tags
Tangerine Tart With a Cookie Crust
My grandmother sent me and my brother a huge box of honey tangerines so I decided to make a tart with them. This recipe is super easy and impressive as hell.
The one thing I was worried about was the extremely wet filling, but after baking, it had a perfect texture.
I wish I took a picture when I removed it from the tart pan. The crust was just perfect.
Ingredients for the Crust
*2 cups...
4 tags
Love Potion: Pumpkin Lavender Bread
The rumor is that Pumpkin + Lavender is an aphrodisiac. I’m not so sure if it is true, but the rumor definitely got a lot of tasters lining up!
This recipe is super easy. Though my secret was hand making the lavender sugar, the night before.
Ingredients:
*3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup from whole wheat pastry flour)
*2 cups lavender sugar **recipe below**
*1 teaspoon salt
...
2 tags
Brioche or is it?
Bread has always been a challenge for me but I saw this recipe for Brioche and thought I’d give it a try. It definitely feels like the beginners version. Thought it came out nice and definitely tasted more like brioche when I tasted the following morning and turned it into french toast!
The dough before it rises.
The dough right before it goes into the oven.
Ingredients:
...
3 tags
Boston Cream Pie - An Amazing Adventure
I spent the afternoon yesterday over at my friend Martina’s house. We both work in the digital/social world and decided to have a freelance afternoon together while baking a Boston Cream Pie for a dinner party tonight. Before we got started, Martina showed me around her incredible urban Farm. She just started planting for the summer, and I seriously can’t wait for it to be warm enough...
4 tags
Caremelized Onion Cauliflower Tart - For the...
The first time I made this savory tart was for a dinner party. I stumbled a bit and definitely didn’t have faith in my crust but it came out beautifully. Inviting friends over to watch the Oscars, I had snacks like guacamole and hummus but wanted something a little bit more hardy and decided to whip this up again. Though, I should have made sure my guests weren’t lactose intolerant or...
3 tags
Chocolate Covered Raspberry Truffles
With this experiment I got to play with chocolate, learn how to ‘temper’ and create little gems I’m quite proud of…
The inspiration:
I saw it in a book and I thought, hey, I can do this…
Bought me some chocolates from my favorite chocolate shop and some raspberries.
Turned the Raspberries into a ganache center
I left them in the fridge over night. Then...
4 tags
Whisky infused Marshmallows + Mistakes = hmmm
I have an obsession with making homemade marshmallows. I like finishing up a dinner party with spiced hot chocolate and marshmallows. Simple, sweet and sexy.
Though, I always make the marshmallows the night before, so they can set over night. It takes about 20 minutes or so to prepare, and another 20 minutes to clean up, so it saves a lot of stress the day of a party. I did learn, that cutting...
February 2011
3 posts
2 tags
Chocolate Chocolate Bday Cake - for Emi!
I love making bday cakes. Seriously, it’s delivered on fire with a song, and enjoyed by a group. Last night I made a cake for my friend/ co-worker Emi. The recipe was super easy and fun to make. I found the cake recipe on Bake Bree and only altered it a little bit.
Ingredients
Cake:
*1 3/4 cups flour *2 cups sugar *3/4 cups cocoa *2 teaspoons baking soda *1 teaspoon baking...
1 tag
I Heart Making Chocolate Truffles
Saturday night I was throwing an event, which was at the same time as my friend’s 30th birthday party. I felt so terrible that I wasn’t able to make it, I decided to make her chocolate truffles.
I found this great recipe on The Pioneer Woman. It was a pretty easy recipe and they came out pretty well.
Ingredients:
*8 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Semisweet Chocolate
*8...
January 2011
8 posts
1 tag
French Bakery & Bar in Tribeca
Today my mom and I planned to have a mother/daughter weekend at the Sundance Film Festival but due to the snow storm, our flight was canceled. Rather than waiting at the airport we decided to get our nails done, go shopping and on our way home we stumbled on a new french bakery called Josephine Cafe Francais.
They had chocolates and the most beautiful little tarts and perfect coffee. What I...
2 tags
The Experimental Lemon Meringue Pie with Chocolate...
Yes. I put bacon in the crust. It was an experiment and I’m still on the fence about it. My brother REALLY didn’t like it but the smokey/salty with the sweet. When I was making it my friend told me a story about how he LOVES lemon meringue filling. As a kid his parents would make it and he would sneak in and eat up all the filling leaving the perfect meringue in tact. His Dad would...
3 tags
Dark Chocolate Blackberry Pie with a Pretzel...
It may be the Fourth Annual Brooklyn Pie Contest but its was my first time ever entering baked goods into anything semi-professional or competitive. I had no idea what to expect and I’m kind of glad I didn’t or I would have been even more nervous.
My friend Marion and I decided to spend the day baking a bunch of pies at our friend’s amazing kitchen and then decided we’d...
