Chefs to chase Dessert First title

Posted on January 13, 2012 by bilrob

Chefs to chase Dessert First title

Ken Mueller hopes three times will be the charm with his entry
in the upcoming Girl Scouts Desserts First Cookie Dessert
Extravaganza.

“I’m tired of coming in second place,” he said. “This is my
third year” of participating in the event.

Mueller, who co-owns Your Taste Catering with Bob Benson, is making
a Tres Leche Cake, which features three types of cream, chocolate
ganache, caramel drizzle and Dulce De Leche Girl Scout
cookies.

“We like to do foods that taste good, are easy to prepare and will
hold up best in the environment we’re in,” he said. “Everything is
made from scratch and made by hand.”

Mueller will be one of 19 chefs at the 2012 Dessert First from
5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 19 at Carroll Knicely Conference Center
West, which can be entered from Campbell Lane. Tickets are $35 per
person or $50 per couple.

“The money goes for the upkeep of our camps, training for our
volunteers and financial aid for any girl or adult who would like
to be a part of Girl Scouts but cannot afford to do so. We call
them ‘Scouterships,’ ” said Felicia Bland, outreach coordinator for
Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana’s Caveland area. “Last year we raised a
little under $10,000. We’re hoping to make that mark or
better.”

Now in its fifth year, Dessert First features chefs creating
appetizers and dessert made with Girl Scout cookies.

“They are challenged to come up with a recipe with our cookies as
the main ingredient,” she said.

The chefs will compete to win the Golden Grater and the Golden
Whisk awards, which are the judges’ choices for best appetizer and
desert, respectively, or the Silver Grater and Silver Whisk awards,
which are the people’s choices for the best appetizer and best
dessert, respectively.

“It’s our biggest one yet,” Bland said. “We have 19 chefs, and we
usually average 12 to 15. We have several newcomers this
year.”

One new chef is Dafnel Fulcher, owner of Sweet Temptations Bakery
Cafe. Although her shop opened Dec. 11, she has been baking
for 39 years.

“Felicia (Bland) came in and asked me to do it,” she said of her
involvement in Dessert First. “I have two granddaughters, and one
of them was involved in Girl Scouts.”

Fulcher plans a still-unnamed cake ball using Tagalongs, bananas,
chocolate and peanut butter. She said she came up with the recipe
in about 10 minutes.

“Bananas, chocolate and peanut butter are my favorite things. I’ve
never met a peanut butter, banana or chocolate I didn’t like,” she
said, laughing. “I can eat a box of Tagalongs in one
sitting.”

Also new to Dessert First will be the 100 Club, in honor of the
100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts in March, Bland said. Those
who make a $100 donation before the event will receive tickets to
Dessert First, copies of the Girl Scout newsletters, a goody bag,
a 100th anniversary lapel pin and other exclusive offers throughout
the year.

“Even if you’ve bought tickets, you’ll be able to (donate) the
night of the event,” she said. “We’ll have a station set up for
that.”

Mueller said his business partner is making an appetizer for the
event – Lemon Spinach Crepe with Hummus uses the Savannah Smiles
Girl Scout cookies.

“We do a dessert and appetizer every year,” he said. “We started
thinking about this as soon as we finished last year. It took us an
afternoon to figure it all out.”

Mueller said Dessert First is not only fun and supports a good
cause, it also benefits him in other ways.

“It gives me the chance to spread my wings a bit. This is one of
those rare times I get to make whatever I want to make,” he said.
“We can get a better reputation and better name in town than buying
ad space and radio time. We’re the best-kept secret in town.”

- For more information, call
842-8138 or visit www.gskentuckiana.org.

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Desserts: Warm up with warm fruit crumble

Posted on January 6, 2012 by bilrob

Desserts: Warm up with warm fruit crumble

Warm desserts are always welcome at my table, especially warm fruit dishes at this time of year. The hardest part of this recipe is making sure the pears are just ripe enough. Here, they should be Bartletts that have started to turn yellow and yield only slightly when pressed. At that stage, the pear slices will hold their shape.

GINGERED PEAR AND CRANBERRY CRUMBLE DESSERTS

Makes 9 servings.

Crumble:

1/4 cup sliced, skin-on almonds

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling:

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2-1/2 pounds barely ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 lemon (1 tablespoon)

1 teaspoon almond extract

To prepare oven, baking dish: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray shallow 8-by-11-inch baking dish or similar-size pan with nonstick cooking oil spray. Set aside.

To make topping: In food processor, combine almonds, flour, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Pulse for 1 minute or until almonds are finely ground. Stop machine. Add butter. Pulse for 1 minute or until mixture forms loose crumbs.

To make filling: In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, ginger and cinnamon.

Add sliced pears, dried cranberries, lemon juice and almond extract. Using hands or large spatula, mix gently so mixture is evenly coated. (Note: Take care not to break up fruit.)

To assemble: Transfer fruit mixture to baking dish or pan. Scatter topping evenly over surface. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and fruit juices are bubbling up. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Life sweet for blogger with upcoming publication of cookbook on Italian desserts

Posted on January 3, 2012 by bilrob

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Life sweet for blogger with upcoming publication of cookbook on Italian desserts

“Grace’s Sweet Life” by Grace Massa-Langlois. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho

LONDON, Ont. – A few years ago, Grace Massa-Langlois’ life was in a shambles.

In 2003, the Londoner had to abandon a career she loved as a financial services manager in the automotive industry because of a debilitating medical condition. In 2004, her husband died suddenly, leaving her with two young children. She says she spent years in a “fog.” There was no light at the end of the tunnel.

But now the word Massa-Langlois uses to describe her life is “exciting,” and with good reason. She is soon to become the published author of a cookbook on Italian desserts called “Grace’s Sweet Life,” which is to be distributed worldwide.

In effect, she says, food saved her life.

It all began innocuously when, with unaccustomed time on her hands, she started watching television food programs. Soon she was buying all the cookbooks and gourmet magazines she could afford, and outfitting her kitchen with all the latest gadgets.

She comes from a big Italian family and was particularly intrigued by Italian desserts.

“I’ve always loved cooking, and being Italian, you’re always surrounded by food,” she says. “But Italians, we just don’t have a ton of sweets.” Her mother would bake cookies or an occasional cake for special events, but “We didn’t have desserts every night. Our dessert was fruit.”

The highlight of the week was an outing to a local Italian bakery every Sunday after church, where they would satisfy their taste for traditional cakes and pastries.

Massa-Langlois started quizzing her mother, doing research online and cooking at home, some things “my mom has been making since she was a little girl and a lot of things my mom didn’t make that I wanted to learn how to make.”

Soon her sisters were calling her for advice and her kids were urging her to find a way to expand her hobby.

So in April 2010 she started blogging (“Before that I didn’t even know what a blog was.”) about her Italian cooking adventures on a website she first called La Mia Vita Dolce, now Grace’s Sweet Life â€” gracessweetlife.com. The response was overwhelming, with more than two million visitors the first year.

Then in February 2011, Massa-Langlois received an email that just floored her. It was from Ulysses Press, a publisher in Berkeley, Calif., asking if she would be interested in writing a cookbook on Italian desserts.

“I thought it was a joke,” she says. “I had never thought about doing a cookbook. It had never entered my mind. Why would it?”

But it was a legitimate company and a legitimate offer and in short order she signed a contract and was assigned to work with the company’s cookbook editor. She spent the next 10 months choosing recipes, honing and testing them, learning how to write them properly and working through the editing process. The anticipated publication date is in March.

It was a lot of hard work, complicated by a couple of major setbacks caused by computer problems, but it was an incredible education, she says.

Keith Riegert, acquisitions editor at Ulysses Press, says it was the strong content of Massa-Langlois’ blog that caught his attention.

He describes Ulysses Press as a “niche publisher.” Employees do a lot of research to identify the latest and emerging trends on subjects they think are “underpublished” and will be “strong in the marketplace.” Then they look for someone to write about those topics.

But in this case, he says, he wasn’t specifically looking for someone to write about Italian desserts. He came across Massa-Langlois’ blog and was impressed by “what she was doing. I loved her photographs and her recipes and the way she was presenting them … her ability to produce great recipes and to develop recipes.”

When Riegert researched the subject, he found there was room for another cookbook on Italian desserts, so he made her the offer. Massa-Langlois’ daughter, Liana Langlois, 20, shot all the photos for the book, as she does for the blog.

Some of the selections in “Grace’s Sweet Life” are family recipes, some classic Italian desserts with Massa-Langlois’ twist on them and many of them are not recipes she has featured on her blog. They sound decadently delicious, with names such as tartellette al cioccolato e caramello (chocolate caramel tarts), bomboloni alla crema krapfen (Italian cream-filled doughnuts) and torta de fragile e crema soffice di yogurt (yogurt mousse cake with strawberries).

Technical issues aside, Massa-Langlois says the biggest challenge of working on the book was physical. “My mind is still working at full force, but the body isn’t,” she says of her ongoing health problems, adding this is especially worrisome to her son Matthew, 18.

But the rewards have been far greater than the challenges, and given the opportunity, she says, she would definitely do it again.

“There’s so many good things. It’s just been exciting.”

Besides giving her own life a purpose and focus that had been missing for quite a while, she says the blog and the cookbook have allowed her to explore her heritage, the traditions of the region in Italy where her mother grew up and of other regions and to preserve those traditions in black and white for her children.

She started to realize the importance of family traditions back in the dark days.

“We just don’t know when something is going to happen.”

To contact Susan Greer, email her at susan.greer(at)rogers.com.

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Five Awesome Desserts for Your New Year's Resolutions

Posted on January 1, 2012 by bilrob

Five Awesome Desserts for Your New Year’s Resolutions

During New Year celebrations we tend to relax, reflect on what we’ve accomplished, and make grand pronouncements about dieting and self-control while gorging on desserts.

But not to worry: you can sneak some healthy ingredients into your sugary after-dinner desserts using ActiFry, a healthy alternative to traditional deep fryers.
A versatile, low-fat multi-cooker, ActiFry helps you whip up tasty homemade desserts using just a tablespoon of oil.

ActiFry also uses a pulse heat system, which of course heats the small amount of oil and spreads the oil throughout the chamber, helping to cook the food evenly.
Below, four simple, delicious, and healthy deserts you can cook at home.

Cranberry Pecan Granola

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cooking Time: 8 Minutes | Serves: 4
Mix the oats, pecans, oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and stir until evenly coated. 2. Place the preparation in the ActiFry and cook for 7 minutes. 3. Add the cranberries and cook for 1 minute more.

Mixed Berry Compote

Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cooking Time: 20 Minutes | Serves: 6
Put the berries, 3 tablespoons of sugar, orange liqueur, lemon juice and dissolved cornstarch into the ActiFry pan, and cook until the liquid has thickened and the fruit has softened (20 minutes). Add more sugar to taste if necessary. Allow to cool slightly before serving or serve at room temperature.

Roast Pineapple and Figs in Australian Honey

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cooking Time: 15 Minutes | Serves: 4
Cut off the crown and the lower part of the pineapple. Cut it into eight lengthways. Remove the core and the skin and chop the flesh into cubes. Place the pineapple pieces in the ActiFry, pour in two tablespoons of honey and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile wash the figs and cut into quarters. Add the figs with the remaining tablespoon of honey, the lemon juice and the cinnamon. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Serve the pineapple and figs with vanilla ice cream.

Chef Ming Tsai’s Five Spice Apple Crumble

Prep Time: 10 | Cooking Time: 35 | Serves: 4
1)Make the “crumble:” In a medium bowl, combine nuts, flour, oats, brown sugar, five-spice powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add the melted butter to the bowl and mix. Add the crumble mixture to the ActiFry. 2) Set the timer to 20 minutes and start the ActiFry. Transfer the finished crumble to a sheet tray. Be careful as the mixture is very hot because of the caramelized sugar. Set aside to cool. 3) In a bowl, combine the diced apples, lemon juice, brown sugar and five-spice powder. Add the apple mixture to the ActiFry, set the timer for 12 minutes and start the ActiFry. 4) After the apples have cooked for 12 minutes, add 1 1/2 cups crumble mixture to the apple mixture. Allow the mixture to cook until warmed through and moist, about 3 additional minutes. 5) Remove from the ActiFry. Serve on its own or with ice cream and a sprig of mint. Use additional crumble for garnish.
And for more on the ActiFry difference, go to tfalactifry.com.

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Dietary restrictions? Try these specialty desserts

Posted on January 1, 2012 by bilrob

Dietary restrictions? Try these specialty desserts

The holidays can be a trying time for people with dietary restrictions, as so many delicious-looking desserts must remain untouched. But there are other tasty options. Specialty bakeries are becoming more common. And because many of the sweetest holiday traditions are created in your own kitchen, restaurants and bakeries from around Los Angeles are offering their recipes for special holiday desserts – including gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan treats.

GINGER COOKIE SHORTCAKES

1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
7 tablespoons nondairy margarine (softened)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup millet flour
3 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons agave
1/4 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
5 tablespoons water (room temperature)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped

For maple orange topping:
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Freshly sliced strawberries
1/4 cup orange juice
Shredded coconut (optional)
Pulp from fresh oranges, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together margarine and sugar until mixed and fluffy. Mix in the molasses, egg, agave, ginger and applesauce. Add the dry ingredients and the water.

Drop the mix in half tablespoons on a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies will be drop shapes. Allow to cool.

For topping, mix together maple syrup, orange juice and orange pulp, and set aside until ready to serve.

After cookies have cooled, when ready to serve, slice cookies in half through the middle, making a mini shortcake. Place strawberries in the middle, dribble maple orange sauce, then add top of cookie and repeat, adding strawberries and maple orange glaze. Top with coconut if desired.

Makes 12 to 15 cookies.
Recipe by Glorious Goodies: Gluten & Dairy Free Desserts, Los Angeles, 310-980-2588.

SPICED CHEESECAKE WITH PECAN CRUST

For crust:
3 cups lightly toasted pecan pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar

Spray or butter bottom and sides of 10-inch round cake pan with at least 2-inch-high sides, or a 10-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (cut to fit, if necessary). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place cooled pecan pieces and brown sugar in food processor. Blend until it becomes tacky. You may have to scrape down the sides of the food processor several times while blending. When it sticks together on its own (from the natural oil in the nuts), pour into the prepared pan. Press gently to cover the bottom of the pan evenly.

Place pan in the preheated oven and bake bottom crust for 10 to 15 minutes. It’s done when it’s slightly paler in color, the edges are toasted, and it looks a little dry. Set the crust aside to cool while you prepare the filling.

For filling:
2 pounds cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese and sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Add the cornstarch and mix again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the heavy cream and spices and beat until incorporated. Pour the filling in the crust.

Carefully place the unbaked cheesecake on a large piece of aluminum foil. Wrap the edges of the foil up around the edges of the cake pan, leaving the top uncovered. This is particularly important if you are using a springform pan. You are making the cake pan watertight, so you can bake it in a water bath.
Place your wrapped cheesecake into a larger cake pan (12-inch works, 14-inch is the best). Place the two pans in the oven. Fill the outer cake pan with hot water until the water level is 1/2 to 2/3 the height of your cheesecake.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, checking toward the end of the baking time. When your cheesecake is finished, it will still wiggle a little if you shake it, but the top will be firm enough that if you gently press it, it will not sink in.

Pull the cake out of the oven, and remove the cheesecake from the water bath. Carefully remove the aluminum foil and allow to cool.

When fully cool, either pop open the springform pan, or gently run a paring knife along the inside of the cake pan, then place a flat, clean plate on top of your cheesecake, and flip upside-down. Gently remove the pan, peel off the cake liner, and put your serving dish on the bottom of the cake. Gently hold the cheesecake between the two plates, and flip once again. When you remove the top plate you should have a perfect cheesecake.
Makes 1 cheesecake.
Recipe by Auntie Em’s Kitchen, Los Angeles, 323-255-0800.

ORANGE CRANBERRY LOAVES

1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt) in a small bowl. In separate large bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients, except cranberries.
Pour dry mixture into wet and mix until smooth. Fold in cranberries.
Grease 2 mini pans with oil and dust lightly with flour.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For glaze:
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar

To make glaze, in a small saucepan, simmer sugar and juice for 5 to 10 minutes on low heat and whisk frequently until a slight syrup forms. Allow to cool and pour over loaves.
Makes 2 mini loaves.
Recipe by Amanda’s Bakery and Cafe, West Hills, 818-292-9388.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE

For cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup soy creamer
1/3 cup blended oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl.
Puree avocado in food processor until smooth. Add maple syrup, soy creamer, oil and vanilla, and blend until creamy.
Fold avocado mixture into flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Spoon batter into prepared cupcake cups. Bake 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached. Cool completely.

For strawberry sauce:
2 to 3 cups hulled and coarsely chopped strawberries
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup orange juice

For strawberry sauce, place strawberries in a heavy-bottom sauce pan. Add granulated sugar and orange juice.
Cook, occasionally stirring, over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, cool and pour over completely cooled cupcakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes.
Recipe by Auntie Em’s Kitchen, Los Angeles, 323-255-0800.

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Tiny desserts, bacon backlash shape 2011

Posted on January 1, 2012 by bilrob

Tiny desserts, bacon backlash shape 2011

2011: The year I officially became the last American to still eat gluten.

Or did it just feel that way? Because though only a tiny fraction of Americans suffer sensitivities to this wheat protein, the multibillion dollar industry of foods, cookbooks and magazines touting their gluten-free cred this year would suggest an epidemic.

Didn’t notice? Perhaps you were too busy chugging raw milk, herding your backyard flock of chickens and hunting down nearby sources for heirloom vegetables, all popular pastimes buoyed by growing demand for so-called “local” foods — a market the government predicted this year would generate some $7 billion in sales.
And so went the year in food, a period marked by some unusual dietary dichotomies.

At the same time sharply rising food prices made it ever harder for American families to get dinner on the table, our nation was seized by an almost obsessive need to know just how many courses would be served at Prince William’s wedding. And how does one make that kooky chocolate biscuit groomsman cake?

At least our government was mindful of its food dollars, right? Accusations that the Justice Department spent $16 a muffin at a breakfast conference turned out to be false. They spent $16.80 for a continental breakfast of pastries, fruit, coffee, tea, juice and, of course, muffins. Wait a minute… Isn’t that what I get for free when I stay at a hotel?

Meanwhile, Congress apparently wants to send plenty of cash to the potato and pizza industries. For this was the year our politicians blocked efforts to limit french fries in school cafeterias and declared the tomato sauce on slabs of pizza the equivalent of a vegetable. Add a ketchup chaser and it’s practically a salad.
Maybe kids can get some healthy eating tips from Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam. This fall, the government gave cartoon characters a hall pass when it comes to pushing sugary cereals and similar foods, caving to food industry pressure while crafting guidelines aimed at toning down the marketing of junk food to kids.
But childhood obesity remained on Michelle Obama’s radar. The first lady spent 2011 forging alliances with restaurants to offer healthier foods, and even enticed Wal-Mart and other retailers to get more fresh and healthy items into regions where such foods are scarce.

Just don’t ask people where those ingredients fall on the food pyramid. Government health officials decided pyramids were too perplexing and scrapped them in favor of a new healthy eating icon, “My Plate” — a circle divided into different sections for fruits, vegetables, protein and grains.

Food safety also was a hot topic. Despite new regulations signed into law in January, the nation suffered its deadliest known outbreak of food-borne illness in more than 25 years when listeria-contaminated cantaloupes sickened 146 people in 28 states, killing 30 of them.

Worrisome obesity rates and food safety concerns didn’t slow America’s fetishizing of food. We continued to swoon over food trucks, the more esoteric the better, even using Twitter to track the movements of our favorite mobile eateries. Don’t have a truck cruising your ‘hood yet? Don’t worry, the moment has nearly passed.
Meanwhile, foodies struggled to crown a new “it” food. Bacon and cupcakes have had their moment. Ditto for offal and ramps. Macaroons are trying, but fussy French cookies are an unlikely contender in this country. Nutella wants it bad, but probably won’t quite get there. Meatballs are yummy, but it’s hard to get excited about a ball of meat.

Tiny desserts also don’t stand a chance, even — if not especially — with retailers pushing waffle iron-like countertop baking appliances for churning out small cupcakes, whoopee pies and cake pops. These devices were the chocolate fountains and turkey fryers of 2011.

Speaking of foods it’s hard to get excited about, what is up with kale? People were tripping over themselves to buy or bake kale chips this year. And now fast food chain Chick-fil-A is suing a Vermont man for selling T-shirts with the logo “eat more kale.” The company claims he is ripping off their ad slogan, “Eat Mor Chikin.”

However that is settled, I doubt even a wet T-shirt could get most Americans to embrace kale. Which means 2012 might well be a year in which foodies don’t have a star ingredient.

Oh, wait. We’re not supposed to call them foodies. They-who-gush-over-pretentious-foods this year decided they are too hip for that down market term. Some have started favoring culinarian. Really? My eyes hurt from rolling. And I pledge to continue using “foodie” with abandon.

And that wasn’t the only offensive term slung in 2011. Inspired by Alec Baldwin’s Saturday Night Live skit about a baker named Pete Schweddy, ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s released a new flavor called Schweddy Balls — vanilla ice cream studded with fudge-covered rum balls. Not everyone was amused and some grocers refused to stock it.

The food publishing world continued to bustle. Bon Appetit magazine got a new editor-in-chief, Adam Rapoport, as well as some heat for his decision to put a person — Gwyneth Paltrow — on the 55-year-old magazine’s cover for the first time in decades. Which puts Gwyneth in the same class as culinary icon James Beard. Plenty of foodies objected to that.

In books, Ferran Adria of Spain’s famed — and, as of July, closed — elBulli restaurant released The Family Meal, dedicated to the meals he fed his staff at his notoriously hard to get into eatery. And Nathan Myhrvold wooed the media — but few consumers — with his brainy 2,438-page, six-volume, 46-pound, $625 Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.

Home cooks clearly had other priorities — starting the day off right. For the first time in a long time, the year’s No. 1 recipe search on Yahoo wasn’t chicken, but “breakfast.” Coming in at No. 5 was pancakes and French toast landed at No. 7. None of them had even made the top 10 in recent years.
And maybe that is telling.

Perhaps that is where we should look for our 2012 trendy “it” food. Breakfast. We could even have tiny gluten-free pancakes made in countertop cookers. Perhaps topped with kale.

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Panettone - Italian holiday bread

Posted on December 30, 2011 by bilrob

Panettone – Italian holiday bread or An alternative to Christmas Pudding

Jeweled with candied fruits (particularly citrus) and raisins, it first came into being in Milan about 1490 and was quickly adopted throughout Italy, from the Alps to Sicily.

The fruit studded Italian sweet bread originated in Milan and quickly spread to the rest of Europe and beyond
Rachel Zammit Cutajar

Today the sweet bread loaf is enjoyed around Christmas and New Year in much of Europe and South America. The Italian Agricultural Minister is trying to obtain Protected Designation of Origin to protect the real Italian cakes from growing competition in Latin America, however to date this has not been successful.
It has a coupla shape, which extends from a cylindrical base and is usually about 12-15 cm high for a panettone weighing 1 kg. Other bases may be used, such as an octagon or a frustum with star section shape more common to pandoro.

Legends abound concerning the origin of panettone. The most popular is one that tells of a young aristocrat smitten with the daughter of a pastry chef named Toni. To impress the father of his beloved, the young man pretended to be an apprentice pastry cook and invented a wonderful sweet dome-shaped bread of exceptional delicacy. This new fruit bread was an enormous success; people streamed into the bakery to buy the exceptional “pan de Toni.”

Another legend credits the panettone cake’s being invented in the court of the Sforzas, where the court cook had no dessert to offer.

The guests were given a sweet bread baked by a mere kitchen boy, called Toni, which won general praise. Rather than steal the praise for himself, the cook congratulated his assistant and named it after him.

In Milan, businessmen adopted the habit of giving panettone as a Christmas gift to their clients. However, for a long time panettone was seen as a luxury accessible only to a select few, until the development of new production techniques made it available to everyone. A process combining natural yeast and a paper mould allows the yeast to leaven the dough to produce a cake that is light as a feather.

Traditional recipes for panettone are a lengthy process involving the curing of the dough, which is acidic, similar to sourdough. The proofing process alone takes several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics. It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, which are added dry and not soaked. Today panettone is well-known around the world and a wide range of varieties is available: cream-filled, covered with chocolate or almond icing; they are often sold in a distinctive box with a handle.

Traditionally Panettone is served with sweet hot beverages of a glass of sweet wine such as Moscato d’Asti. It can also be enjoyed in a thousand and one ways, covered with various sauces, filled or topped with cream preparations. It is particularly delicious toasted for breakfast, dipped into hot or cold milk until it softens. Panettone is not only a Christmas tradition but a delicious complement to a fine meal.

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Donated desserts complete 700 free dinners

Posted on December 27, 2011 by bilrob

Donated desserts complete 700 free dinners

After Mike and Pam Ginsberg reported they had all the main course foods provided but still needed donated desserts to complete their traditional free Christmas dinner at LulaBelle’s restaurant, they were overwhelmed with donated pies, cakes, cookies and candies.
As the last of the people sharing Christmas in the restaurant dining room at 111 Bird St. were preparing to depart, Pam said she wanted to “thank all the people who volunteered here” and also those who “made desserts for us.” Several of the diners were offered pies or cakes to take home.

A total of 700 dinners were prepared, Pam said, including more than 550 that were delivered and another 150 served in the dining room.
Including those who arrived very early in the morning to prepare the traditional ham Christmas dinner, Mike estimated that 60 volunteers helped during the day. They were also delivering, serving and working behind the scenes, first filling the plates to be delivered and later washing dishes.
The cooking crew included Mike and Pam Ginsberg, Pam’s mother, Fern Wesbecher, along with Sally Poole, Drex Rothweiler, Martha Adrian and Karen Martino. Adrian said that each year “I look forward to doing it.”

Among those delivering meals were Amanda Main and Noel Davis, who said after taking dinners to three families, they were going to feed the ducks at Huckleberry Park, which she does regularly.

Some people attend the dinner every Christmas, such as Charles and Sharon White. She called it “a great thing.”
After visiting with Mike Ginsberg, Charles explained the two have known each other for many years and at one time both worked at the Holiday Inn, (now the Hannibal Inn). “Mike was over the restaurant and I was the maintenance,” Charles said.
Family groups were volunteering to serve the diners, such as Nita Beilsmith and her daughter, Megan, 12. Megan had brought some toys from home. “I gave a little girl a doll, and she was so happy,” Megan said.

Another youth keeping busy was Noah Baker, 10, who paused to say he “had fun serving people.”
Some volunteer each year, including Tony Jones, who explained, “I just like helping people and seeing smiles on their faces.”
Among those smiling during their dinner were Viola Hilt and her daughter, Diane. Diane she “I loved it.” Her dessert was a cupcake, and Viola had such a big piece of cake, she was not sure she could finish it.

Other volunteers “came home” to join their family in volunteering, such as Kim Zottarella of O’Fallon, who was serving in the dining room with her parents, Larry and Jodie McKluskie. Larry was carrying a large tray of desserts from table to table, offering choices of pies and cakes.
Another family group of servers were Angela Seats and her four children. Her son, Trey, 7, was perhaps the youngest helper, as he tirelessly asked if he could refill drinks. Also helping were his sisters, Celeena, Zoe and Kora.
A teen volunteer, Jackson Wagner, 15, paused while serving a tray of candy to report, “I like being able to serve people, and you get to meet a lot of new people.’
One diner one was enjoying visiting with others was World War II veteran Aldo Torbeck, 91, of Palmyra. He came alone but said he spends part of every day with his wife, Arlene, who recently went to Maple Lawn Nursing Home in Palmyra. To stay healthy, Torbeck walks outside every day or exercises inside, “like Army calisthenics,” He enjoys good health, and said “with God all things are possible.”

Another dining at LulaBelle’s was Joe McDannald, who is retired but explained he was a longtime contractor, building Walmarts in several places, including the first in Hannibal. As “one of Walmart’s main contractors,” McDannald explained, he knew Sam Walton personally.
“He drove a 1973 white Ford pickup,” he said, adding “it wasn’t unusual for him to pull up and be pushing shopping carts” into a store. Since retiring from the construction business, McDannald has been helping with the homeless for nearly 20 years.

Among the last to leave the building were the hard-working dish-washing crew, which had included Dave Scharnhorst, Lisa Murphy, Len Moss, Rob Ahrens and Stacy McElfresh. They did not want publicity, just said they enjoy helping out each year.

Recipes for Desserts with Bill & Sheila

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New Dessert Shop Serves Up Cinnamon Buns, Cookies and More

Posted on December 25, 2011 by bilrob

New Dessert Shop Serves Up Cinnamon Buns, Cookies and More

Baking has always been Elk Grove resident Terri Littleton’s therapy.

So after seven years of baking on weekends and selling her goods online while working full-time for ATT, Littleton opened her own dessert shop in Elk Grove.

Terri Does Dessert, 6616 Laguna Blvd. Ste. 120, opened in October.

How has business been since you opened?

It’s been good. It’s been going well. People are really coming by, and we have a lot of regulars, now. I have people that come in every couple of days and get German chocolate cake. Some people come in every day and get cinnamon rolls. A lot of them are neighborhood people. Then we have friends who come in and get their favorites.

How long did you have your online dessert business?

Six or seven years. It just started with friends and people I worked with, then there was some word of mouth and word of mouth and pretty soon I had a nice little following.

Then about a year-and-a-half ago, we went into a partnership with a café called Coffee Bridge, and I did his dessert for him. But then he went out of business in December of last year, so I just said, “Maybe we’ll try to do this on our own.”

Before that, I worked full-time for ATT.

These days, when so many businesses are failing and people are struggling in this tough economy, opening your own dessert shop is a risky thing to do. What prompted you to take that leap?

It is risky. (Baking) has been m passion for years and the good thing about the economy now is that the rents and leases are low, and landlords are willing to work with you a lot to get you into a space because they want the occupancy.

I read a lot of things that said in a bad economy there are two things people do: They eat sweets and they go to the movies.

And you know, sometimes you just have to step out on faith.

Where does your passion for baking come from?

My mom. My mom used to make German chocolate cake and that’s where I learned how to make it. She got tired of making, and I had to learn. Ever since then I’ve been baking.

Many years ago, around the holidays, I started doing cookie baskets. I was a single mom at the time so I made extra Christmas money doing that.

It kind of evolved over the years because people will ask, “Can you do this? Can you do that?” And then I try it.

Do you come up with all your own recipes?

It’s a combination. I have my own recipes, like my peach cobbler cheesecake. It’s a really popular one, and it’s something I made up. It took a good year to get it where I wanted it, and my husband was the taste tester so he doesn’t eat it much, now … He got really tired of it. But it’s my one signature dessert.

And then I find recipes, and I tweak them a little bit. I like trying new things.

What is your favorite dessert to make?

German Chocolate is my favorite to eat …

That’s kind of hard because I just make so much… Trying new recipes is always a fun thing for me to do. I like decorating cupcakes. I decorate some cakes, but cupcakes are fun. They’re small and you can put sprinkles and different fun stuff on them, so it makes it nice to do.

One of my most favorite things is decorating cookies. I do cookies in different shapes, like dresses and shoes, and I do ones with holiday themes.

What is your daily schedule like? Do you have to wake up at 4 a.m. to start baking?

I should, but usually I get up at 6 a.m. Some of the work I do the night before. I prep the cinnamon rolls the night before, then take them out of refrigerator and let them rise in the morning. Some cakes I can bake the night before and frost the next day.

But I don’t freeze anything.

I get a lot of people coming in and asking, “Do you bake your own dessert?” Yeah, we make them here. They’re really shocked that we actually make our own stuff and don’t ship anything in.

A lot of people say they make their own dessert and try ours, then they come back and say, “Now, I don’t have to make it.” Sometimes they tell me it tastes just like when they were a kid, and that’s the biggest compliment, especially when it comes from an older person.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes

1 cup butter

1.5 cup sugar

3 eggs
2 teas. Vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teas. Baking powder
1/2 teas. Baking soda
1/4 teas. Salt
2 teas. Cinnamon
17 ounce can sweet potatoes (mashed)

Prepare 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with mashed potatoes.

Divide batter into muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when lightly touch.

Cool and frost with your favorite frosting. Littleton recommends cream cheese frosting.

Dessert Recipes with Bill & Sheila

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Omaha Dessert Crawl: 10 of Omaha's best - Omaha World

Posted on December 23, 2011 by bilrob

Omaha Dessert Crawl: 10 of Omaha’s best – Omaha World

Premium ContentClick on Premium Content on the Featured navigation bar for information.

• Map: Plan the route for your dessert crawl with our interactive map of all the restaurants featured here.

* * *

A pub crawl can be a lot of fun, but when it’s confections rather than cocktails you crave, consider spending an evening or afternoon going on a dessert crawl. There’s perhaps no better time to stroll the streets and savor some sweets than during the holidays.

In Sunday’s World-Herald

Pick up a copy of Sunday’s Christmas Day paper for:

Michael Kelly’s story of two men whose lives were forever changed 21 years ago by a broken mailbox.

Michael O’Connor’s account of how, for nearly 50 years, three sisters have kept alive the memory of a fourth during the holidays.

Plenty of advertisements for after-Christmas shopping deals.

From now through New Year’s Eve, many restaurants across the city are offering a variety of festive treats to celebrate the season. To help you plan your sugary dessert adventure, here’s a look at some of the sweet seasonal offerings.

For many regulars at Lo Sole Mio, 3001 S. 32nd Ave., it wouldn’t be the holidays without a generous helping of the Italian eatery’s bread pudding with bourbon sauce. Chef Dino Losole said his family’s restaurant goes through more than 40 pans of the popular dessert, served during the last two weeks of December.

It features house-made bread, dried fruits, nuts and a variety of spices. But what takes this dessert over the top, Losole said, is the sweet, decadent bourbon sauce (cream, brown sugar, bourbon).

“It’s one of those old-school, good-feeling dishes,” he said. “It’s warm and hearty.”

Losole said the dessert pairs wells with cappuccino, Tuaca or one of the restaurant’s special holiday drinks, including the Christmas Cookie Martini made with espresso, toffee liqueur and peppermint schnapps.

During the holiday season, pastry chef Heidi Schlicht puts in extra long hours at Delice European Bakery Cafe, 3201 Farnam St. One dessert alone — the bche de Nol — takes anywhere from three to four hours to make. It’s an item that many customers look forward to each year, Schlicht said.

Available by advance order, the hand-rolled, hand-decorated classic French cake is filled with hazelnut mousse and covered with chocolate ganache textured to resemble tree bark and decorated with meringue mushrooms and holly leaves.

The Midtown Crossing eatery also offers a wide range of readily available holiday treats in individual dessert servings. The seasonal selection includes: a Chocolate Mint Bomb cake with chocolate-mint mousse and chocolate ganache; gingerbread men; gingerbread cupcakes with eggnog buttercream and various cheesecakes in holiday flavors such as eggnog.

Black Forest cake is a holiday favorite dessert at Gerda’s German Restaurant Bakery, 5180 Leavenworth St. Owner Gerda Bailey’s version of the classic German dessert features three layers of dark chocolate cake, Kirsch cherry liqueur, whipped cream and cherries.

Other seasonal treats at Gerda’s include the classic German cookies Springerle and Pfeffernuesse and a sweet bread called Stollen, which is full of dark and golden raisins, citron, almonds and other ingredients.

Another restaurant offering old world holiday baked goods is Zum Biergarten, 513 Fort Crook Road North, Bellevue.

In addition to making Stollen, co-owner Lisa Wynn-Helbig bakes several kinds of cookies, including almond spritz cookies — an almond-flavored sugar cookie in the shape of snowflakes, stars or Christmas trees decorated with sparkling sugar or royal icing.

“They’re great dipped in a cup of tea or coffee,” said Wynn-Helbig, who also makes moist, cake-like Black Forest chocolate dessert cookies studded with white chocolate chips and cherries.

Follow the trail of gingerbread crumbs to WheatFields. The classic holiday confection (available in 5- and 16-inch sizes) is a big seller at all three of the restaurant’s locations — 103rd and Pacific Streets, 72nd Street and Highway 370 and 12th and Howard Streets.

“We’ve made 12 million, no 13 million, gingerbread boys and girls,” said co-owner Ron Popp.

The restaurant’s other seasonal sweets include a German chocolate dessert cake roll, maraschino cherry bar and peppermint stick cheesecake. New this year is gingerbread cheesecake featuring gingerbread pieces in the batter.

“You get that dark molasses and spice flavor,” Popp said. “It’s a good flavor marriage.”

In addition to wine, cheese, charcuterie and fresh-baked bread, cozy Old Market establishment La Buvette, 511 S. 11th St., offers several seasonal dessert items.

The selection changes each week, said employee Matt Harwell, but recent holiday offerings have included cherry almond chocolate bark, ginger ice cream and apricot walnut caramel tart. Served warm, the tart makes a perfect cold-weather treat and pairs particularly well with a single malt scotch or late-harvest Riesling, Harwell said.

Elegant and elaborate, the Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake is the holiday highlight at FarmHouse Cafe Bakery, 3461 S. 84th St.

Manager Christopher Miller said their version of the classic cake boasts “slight notes of cocoa” and is exceptionally moist. It’s iced with buttercream and topped with a mixture of maraschino cherries, chopped walnuts and chocolate ganache.

“It’s a very popular item,” Miller said.

Peppermint fans can enjoy a scoop of homemade peppermint ice cream at Petrow’s Restaurant, 5914 Center St. It starts with a vanilla base and includes lots of crushed peppermint candies. Petrow’s makes the ice cream with 14 percent milk fat, resulting in a richer taste and creamier texture, said general manager Brian Stavneak.

Jones Bros. Cupcakes, 2121 S. 67th St., has a trio of holiday-inspired treats. The festive flavors include a gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting, a peppermint cupcake with peppermint buttercream topped with candy cane pieces and an eggnog cupcake with eggnog buttercream.

While many associate Upstream Brewing Company with its beer, the restaurant takes pride in its house-made desserts, all created by its Culinary Institute of America-trained head pastry chef, said Peter Kolb, director of operations.

Both locations at 17070 Wright Plaza and 514 S. 11th St., feature an array of calorie-rich, cold-weather comfort desserts, including chocolate bourbon pecan pie bread pudding, holiday-inspired cakes and crme brule.

“We have fairly big portions,” Kolb said, “yet it’s amazing how many people will force themselves to make room for dessert.”

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