Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010

This Just Ain't a Sweet Face, I Can Cook, Too!! ....(Kind of)

Roasted Pepper Sandwich 2

I knew it.  I just KNEW this was going to happen.

Continuing to advance in this competition I knew there would be some point I would have to cook or do something non-baking related.  Lo and behold, I made it to the next round (thank you... seriously, from the bottom of my heart).

As I read carefully through the prompt, there was a sinking feeling that came over the pit of my stomach...

Challenge #6: Road Trip!
For this challenge, you're tasked with creating a delicious meal that will travel well and still look great. From picnics and school lunches to bento boxes, or any other meal on the go, you need to whip up a entree, side, drink, and dessert to enjoy after hitting the road.

*Cue the horrifying screams of terror*

Horror


An entree, side, drink, and dessert??? Dessert was a piece of cake (hehe) but an entree?  A side?? A DRINK?!?  This being primarily a dessert blog you can imagine the whirlwind that was going on in my mind.



Meal to Go 4


Thankfully, I have a great resource to turn to when it comes to food.  I've mentioned before that I work with an extremely talented chef, named Kelly, who is a restaurant consultant.  When I told him my dilemma, his genius brought me a simple and easy yet delicious solution that even a cooking-phobic like me could execute.

The entree would be a sandwich.
Cookbook

The side would be some quick pickles.
Cookbook 2


Goat Cheese and Roasted Pepper Panini
Makes 4 Panini.

5 1/2 Ounces Goat Cheese (Softened at Room Temp)
3 Green Onions (Trimmed, Half of the Green Tops, Finely Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Italian Parsley (Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Basil (Chopped)
1 Garlic Clove (Small, Peeled and Finely Chopped)
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 Red Bell Peppers (Ripe)
2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Capers
Small Pinch Hot Red Pepper Flakes
4 Michette or Round rolls


 Ingredients 2

Up above is the original recipe.  Having forgotten to purchase some of the ingredients like basil and red pepper flakes I figured maybe I could wing some of the parts.

As much as I don't frequent cooking, one thing I really do appreciate about the art of cooking is the ability to wing it.  With baking, you can't really do that.  If you run out of sugar in the middle of making Swiss Meringue Buttercream it's not as simple as leaving it out and substituting with Honey or Brown Sugar.  There's a chemistry behind all of the ingredients and you REALLY gotta know what you're doing.

Goat Cheese Mixture:

Put softened Goat Cheese, Green Onion, Garlic, Italian Parsley, Salt, and Pepper into a bowl and mix together well.
A quick trick on peeling Garlic:
Smash the unpeeled garlic with the side of a knife.  Super easy!
Peeling Garlic

Goat Cheese Mixture 3
Refrigerate for several hours and bring to room temp before serving.

Roasted Bell Peppers:
I decided to get one Red, one Yellow, and one Orange Peppers.


Take the Bell Peppers and roast until the skins are blackened.  If you don't have an open flame you can use the broiler.
Roasting Peppers

Roasting Peppers 3

Put into a bowl and cover so that it steams the Pepper.
Steaming

After 15 minutes peel the skins off as best as you can.


Cut the tops off and take out the seeds then cut the Pepper into strips.
Roasting Peppers 8

Add the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Capers, Red Pepper Flakes, and Capers and gently toss together.
Roasting Peppers 7

Building the Sandwich:

I added Wild Arugula.
Arugula

For the bread I used Ciabatta.
Sandwich Building

Sandwich Building
5

Roasted Pepper Sandwich

For the wrapping I used parchment paper.
Sandwich Bag 7
Tape together with masking tape.  Regular scotch tape won't really work.

Repeat to create a cover.
Sandwich Bag 6




Italian-Style Garden Pickles
Makes about 8 Cups
(I did about half this recipe)

Cookbook 3

I used Green Beans, Yellow Chiles, and Jalapenos.
Cutting Green Beans

Chiles

Vegetables

Rosemary & Oregano.
Herbs


Mix together in a bowl.

In a pot add White Wine Vinegar, Water, Sugar, Salt, Black Peppercorns, Fennel Seeds, and Bay Leaves (I think it was supposed to be dried ones, oh well).
Pickle Mixture 2

Fennel Seeds

Bring to a boil then down to a simmer for 3 minutes.
Pickle Mix

Pour over the vegetables and herbs.
Pickled Green Beans 6
Bring to room temp and store in the fridge up to a month.  
This is edible within the first few hours of chilling, but flavor improves over time.

We had these awesome Le Parfait jars at our office so I used them.
Pickled Green Beans


Drinks 

I had some amazing Ginger Ale.  Kelly had an idea to spice up the drink by adding some sort of fruit juice to it.  It ended up being pears.

Since I didn't have a juicer I decided to puree it.
Pear Puree
Push through a fine sieve.

It turned out fine but as soon as it was pureed it started turning brown!  Next time, add lemon juice before pureeing!


Dessert

I had some chocolate puff pastry left over from the last pizza challenge so I decided to make Chocolate Palmiers.  

Puff Pastry

No need to reinvent the wheel when you don't have to.
Palmier 5
(Try to make the folds as wide as possible. 
This was too short so they came undone in the oven.)

Chill it in the freezer for about 20 minutes so it's easier to cut.
Palmier

Sprinkle with sugar.
Palmier 2
Bake at 425 degrees for 6 minutes then flip them over.
Bake for another 6 minutes or until the center is baked.

To add something extra I dipped them in chocolate.
Palmier 3



Meal to Go

I had to work on Saturday so I packed everything up and took it to work.

Meal to Go 3

Our office is small and filled with lots of different kitchen supplies.  The conference table is a kitchen table with a wooden block as the top.  My desk is a stainless steel counter top, too.  It's fun working with a chef.

Lunch 2

Kelly

Pear Ginger Ale
The Pear puree turned really brown but it tasted really good with the Ginger Ale.  It mellowed out the intense Ginger. 

Lunch 3


I must say... it wasn't as horrifying as I had imagined.  A special thanks to Kelly: Thanks for your help in planning... and eating!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Joey Special: Two (Dessert) Pizzas!

Nutella and Peach Pizza 3

In the end, it was more like two versions of the same dessert pizza and one experiment gone painfully, PAINFULLY wrong.

Nutella and Cherry Pizza 3

After getting over my utter shock and amazement of advancing to the next round (thank you guys again for your votes and support! I'm so honored to have made it to the top 72!) I cemented my ideas for the next challenge:

Challenge #5: The Recipe Remix
...We're challenging each of you to put your own spin on the same recipe... You'll be asked to put your own spin on Pizza. For the purpose of this contest and challenge, we are defining pizza as having a solid base, a sauce and at least one topping. 

The first image that popped in my head was a fruit tart I've done in the past:

Fruit Tart

But a fruit tart?  No, I needed something a bit more... non-conventional.  The first place I turned to was my good friend Pierre Hermé. 

By friend I clearly mean book.

Book 2

I came across two "crusts" that I thought would make good bases for my dessert pizzas: 1) Dacquoise (p.39) and 2) Chocolate Puff Pastry (p.245).

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

VOTING IS OPEN!!!!

VOTING IS OPEN FOR THE FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE #4!!  PLEASE CLICK ON MY FACE TO THE RIGHT AND VOTE!!!

Did I mention it's my birthday today?? ;)

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Holy Pillows of Air, Batman!

Macarons

Parisian Macarons.

Oh, how I loathe... and love these airy, pillowy, and sugary delights.
I've attempted to make these sweet sensations in the past and was met with more than frustrating results.  For those of you who are familiar with my blog will recall not one, but two failed attempts.

Vanilla Macaron 2 
For this week's challenge...

Challenge #4: Picture Perfect
Sure, you can take a pretty picture. But your task here is to go above and beyond and use photography to create a step-by-step, instructional photo tutorial."

(thank you all so much for voting!!! I'm truly shocked and honored to have made it this far!)  

...I thought I'd challenge myself a bit considering I often show a "step-by-step" & "how-to" through photography on a semi-regular basis.

First, a bit of clarification on the primary ingredient: Almond Flour/Meal. 

Blanched Almond Meal

Sunday, October 3, 2010

A Summer Night's Sugar Coma

 Good Luck

First, I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me for my Bakla-who? entry.  Please continue to vote for me in the Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog competition!!!

So, about the third challenge.  Here's the prompt:

...the next challenge is to hold a party for your friends and family. Whether you're an experienced host or an entertaining newbie, get creative and host a luxurious dinner party where your guests will discover new tastes and exotic flavors. Share your hosting secrets with readers, like how to cook for a crowd, plan a menu, or involve guests in the prep.

Wow... where to even begin.

Dinner Guests 2

Well, let me start off by saying that this is the first "luxury" anything I've ever done or attempted to do let alone a dinner party.  I learned a heck of lot about hosting a party.  

The main thing?  It's hard, man.

Flowers

In reading the challenge the first thing that came to my mind was,  

"I don't cook.  How on earth am I going to throw a dinner party???"  

Since my blog is primarily a dessert blog I asked permission to do a dessert menu and was granted.  Heaven's to Betsy thank goodness!  If I had to cook... I would have dropped out of the competition faster than you could say, "OH, heeeeeeell no!"

Dinner Guests 3