Fall Lunch Desserts

Top Left (clockwise):

Mango Parfait
Passion Fruit Gelee // Passion Fruit Seeds

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse
Candied Peanuts // Whip Cream // Chocolate Sauce

Spiced Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Whip Cream // Brown Butter Sage Crumble

Caramel Panna Cotta
Chocolate Cremeux // Chocolate Covered Feuilletine

Green Cardamom Creme Brulee

Green Cardamom Creme Brulee
Roasted Plum Sorbet // Cardamom Infused Plums // Plum Gastrique
Almond Tuile // Almond Crumble

My Favorite!!!
-----------------------------------------
(New Dinner Dessert 4 of 4)

Chocolate Espresso Decadence

Chocolate Espresso Decadence
Coffee Chicory Ice Cream // Chicory Foam
Chocolate Caramel Tuile // Cocoa Crumble // Chocolate Sauce

(New Dinner Dessert 3 of 4)

Caramelized Squash Mousse

Caramelized Squash Mousse
Gingerbread // Apple Cider Sorbet //Squash Chips
Caramel Sauce // Graham Cracker Crumble

(New Dinner Dessert 2 of 4)

Lemon Meringue Chiffon

Lemon Chiffon Cake
Buttermilk Sherbet // Lemon Curd
Toasted Swiss Meringue // Lemon Zest Meringue Shards
Lemon Powder // Graham Cracker Crumble

(New Dinner Dessert 1 of 4)

Lady :: Camila :: Red

 

After our doughnut making session about a week and a half ago, Cheryl sent me home with half a dozen of her "farm fresh" eggs on the condition that I eat them and not bake with them of course!  If you enlarge the pictures above, you'll notice 3 different colored eggs and some numbers penciled on them.  That's the number egg each chicken has produced and the date it was laid - a pretty organized system I would say.  Cheryl and her boyfriend actually have 3 chickens in the backyard of their San Francisco home:

Lady Gaga (One FUNKY Chicken) - White Leghorn with White Eggs

Camila - Araucana with Beige Eggs

Red - Rhode Island Red with Brown Eggs

These chickens provide them with about a dozen eggs a week - isn't that awesome!?  My boyfriend thought that was so cool and said that it would be perfect for me with all the baking that I do.  But, I'm terrified of birds, so I would have nothing to do with their care if we ever had chickens of our own. 

Now, I've cracked a lot of eggs in my career, but it doesn't take away any of the excitement when I have home grown eggs.  So the next morning, I was ready to dig in to them and decided to make a nice breakfast .  I wanted to enjoy my eggs as a Benedict and my boyfriend wanted the usual sunny-side up eggs.  So I cracked open two eggs revealing fresh, beautiful and extremely yellow yolks.  I made a small batch of Hollandaise Sauce from that.  (Don't worry, I didn't waste the whites - Crease enjoyed them later with his lunch.)  

Two more eggs went on a frying pan and the last two were to be poached.  I honestly have never poached an egg before, so I was a little scared of over cooking it, but it actually came out well - a nice runny yolk!  Since this was a "special" breakfast,  I went all out and made Hash Browns too.  I use a technique I learned from Irving Street Cafe to make my Hash Browns.

Thanks so much for the delicious eggs Matt & Cheryl - we really enjoyed our breakfast!  Can't wait to out next food adventure!

Doughnut Making Party! [FPP v1.0]

Cheryl w/ a Mini Choco Honey Glazed Doughnut

This has to be my quickest post in terms of the time I left the kitchen to the time I hit the keyboard.  But, I couldn't help myself - I had an absolute blast making doughnuts today with three fellow [PB] alumni!

Top Left (clockwise): Measuring Utensils, Donna Hay, Farm Fresh Eggs, Apple Fritters Proofing, Mise en Place

It all started when Sarah of S&S Brand picked up a copy of the Donna Hay autumn issue on doughnuts.  She figured that she couldn't stay at home and make a variety of doughnuts by herself, well she could, but that wouldn't be much fun.  So instead, she contacted two Pastry Chefs and our very own "Donna Hay."  After the hurdle of finding a day that we could all participate, the two Sarahs and I showed up with ingredients and bubbly ready to fry in the kitchen of our gracious host Cheryl.

We attempted 5 different recipes, but a typo on one recipe messed up our Little Custard (Lemon Curd) Doughnuts.  Unfortunately, those ended up in the compost bin.  The Little Custard Doughnuts recipe on Donna Hay's website however is correct and works well as a base doughnut that can be cut to the shape of your choosing, filled with whatever you like and dusted with your sugar of choice. 

The Final Products:

Apple Fritters & Caramel Filled Chocolate Doughnuts

Strawberry Jam Doughnuts

Mini Chocolate Honey Glazed Doughnuts

My favorite was the Strawberry Jam Doughnuts followed by the Minis (they're just so cute!) and the Caramel Filled ones.  The dough itself is not very sweet, so the addition of jams, glazes and caramel won't make your teeth tingle.  That being said, the apple fritters were quite sour since we used Granny Smith Apples - perhaps a sweeter apple next time.  After the sugar rush, we had some much needed and much deserved tacos for dinner - the perfect end for our perfect day. 

Like I said, I had an amazing time and so did the other lovely ladies!  Thank you Cheryl and the Sarahs for such a fun-filled day in the kitchen!  We already have our next event on the calendar, so you'll have to stay tuned to see what the next theme is...trust me, you'll love it!

Poking Fun at pastrypixels

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies [08.22.2011]

This all started when my boyfriend asked me to make some cookies, or anything sweet since I haven't really baked anything at home since starting my new job about a month ago.  Of course I whined and about being tired and that I get to make whatever I want at work, so I don't feel the urge to do it at home anymore.  He went on to say that he was "craving some sugar" and that I "could blog about it on pastrypixels because I have to update [his] blog more often."  (Yes, he owns the domain.)  So, I agreed to make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, but it didn't stop there... 

He went on to gesture as if he were typing and in the voice he uses to make fun of me went on to say the following:

"My boyfriend asked me to make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, but of course I put my own twist on them.  I used BROWN SUGAR instead of regular sugar, added EXTRA CINNAMON and instead of using raisins, I used CRASINS!  They came out really good, moist, chewy and soft.  Most of all my boyfriend loved them [exclamation mark] [exclamation mark] [exclamation mark]"

I nearly died laughing after that and decided I had to share with my readers.  So, the first chance I got I made the cookies.  Here goes MY actual post:

I used Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe with the following adjustments.

I had steel cut oats at home, so I used those instead of rolled oats.  I didn't have Wheat Germ at home, so I omitted that and added an extra 1/2 c of Oats.  I also love raisins in baked goods, so I added an extra 1/2 c and "re-hydrated" them with 1/3 c of Spiced Rum on the stove top before adding them to my batter.  

In the end, I must say that these aren't the prettiest of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, but they aren't overly sweet like many are.  They almost tasted healthy...I said almost.  I attribute that to the type of oats I used, since steel cut oats are chewier and take a longer time to cook.  I'd like to try the recipe with rolled oats next time, but my boyfriend didn't complain.  Goal accomplished...until he has another sweet tooth outbreak.

P.S.  Sorry if I sound exactly the way my boyfriend portrays me.  But hey, at least I can laugh at myself [exclamation mark]