11/30/18 Practicing for Final Chocolate Eclairs

11/30/18 Practicing for Final Chocolate Eclairs
Meeting on an unusual day, but making up missed time for Hurricane Florence. we are practicing Chocolate Eclairs. The prep of scrumptious treat is our final project. There is much technique involved for a good result and practicing several times is the way to go!!

Beating the Choux Pastry

Piped and Resting

Baked

11/29/18 Apple Pan Dowdy

11/29/18 Apple Pan Dowdy
The New England area is noted for fruit desserts with unusual names such as Dowdy, Slump, Grunt, Buckle, and Sonker. Sounds like a fight! Having seen Apple Pan Dowdy in a Cook's Illustrated magazine, I have always wanted to give it a try. And so I did for my Prayer Breakfast Group. A Dowdy is characterized by using an iron skillet and slightly cooking a fruit mixture with the crust on top. The crust in cut in squares and pressed down into the fruit filling. At Prayer Breakfast, Jeanne Owens says this is similar to her Skillet Pie except her version has a caramel layer on the bottom. I think I will try that too!!

11/24/18 Dutch Baby Pancake

11/24/18 Dutch Baby Pancake

A Dutch Baby Pancake can be a nice change up from pancakes. A wet batter is poured into a hot cast iron skillet containing melted butter. Similar to a popover, it rises high in the pan with a crunchy top. Lemon or orange juice is squeezed over the top after baking and final dusting of powdered sugar! We served sliced strawberries as a side.

 

11/23/18 Oyster Roast

11/23/18 Oyster Roast

The day after Thanksgiving we hosted an Oyster Roast at our house for friends and family. A fun time for all!

Cheese Board

Relish Board

Cornucopia Cake 

11/20/18 Pizza Bread for Dinner

11/20/18 Pizza Bread for Dinner
A family and classroom favorite: Pizza Bread! Took home a boule of Pizza Dough from class today and made pizza Bread for my family. A roll of dough encasing browned sausage, mozzarella, and pepperoni!! I want to personally thank the people of Naples, Italy for inventing Pizza!

11/20/18 Thanksgiving Pies

11/20/18 Thanksgiving Pies

The Baking and Pastry Arts Program presents: Thanksgiving Pies for sell!!

Our program took orders from the CCC staff for Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pecan Pies. Our class spent two days baking approximately 50 pies! Here is a video of our pie prep: https://animoto.com/play/2m7CU4q05sXO5ZE5P80g2A

Pumpkin

Pecan

Apple

Pecan and Sweet Potato

11/19/18 Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid

11/19/18 Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid
 I love shaping a yeast bread braid. When baked it always shines!! This is for Prayer Breakfast!

11/14/18 Apple Strudel Epic Failure

11/14/18 Apple Strudel Epic Failure
Ryan and I were assigned the preparation of an Apple Strudel. Who could guess it would go so wrong. We prepared the dough and prepared our table for stretching the dough. Let's just say there were several factors leading to this colossal failure. We should have floured our surface better and we stretched it with a completely inappropriate technique!!  Here we go:

The dough stretched and covered with bread crumbs

Double divided into two parts and filling added

The roll and the fall apart. UGH!! I need more practice!!!

11/12/18 Cookies for the President's Meet and Greet

11/12/18 Cookies for the President's Meet and Greet
On 11/13, our college President John Hauser met and chatted with students, staff, and the community in the Bryant Center. Our class prepared cookies for the event. We could select a cookie recipe of choice. I chose Coconut Macaroons (not Macarons, what a difference an "o" makes) because I haven't baked these before. Initially, they were not baked enough and after have been taken out of the oven, back in they went to complete the baking process. Saved by Chef Summers!!

Dough Scooped on Sheet Pan

Cookie dough Scooper

Done and Delish!!

11/12/18 Again, Practice

11/12/18 Practice

11/12/18 Cream Cheese Kolaches

11/12/18 Cream Cheese Kolaches
Another favorite bake for Prayer Breakfast is Kolaches. The group has been served, blueberry, apricot, and strawberry Kolaches. This bake I used a cream cheese filling. Topped with a raspberry, this offering was delicious and visually appealing!! Now, that's a double whammy.

After the Final proof the a well is pressed in the dough

Filled, baked, iced, and garnished

11/8/18 Lemon Mousse Bombe

11/8/18 Lemon Mousse Bombe.
The bridge club is coming. I have some Lemon Curd. What can I make? A bombe with a white chocolate shell, lemon curd on the top, lemon mousse and a lemon cake on the bottom. Garnished with lemon butter cream, lemon zest, and a raspberry. The only problem with the dessert was a too thick white chocolate shell. I applied 3 layers. Next time, I will reduce this to two layers. I found little pedestal servers at Tuesday Morning and they were perfect for each serving.

Ingredients Mixed for Lemon Curd

Cooking Process

Prepared and Stored

Chocolate Shell for the Bombe

Ready to Serve

Add caption

Plated

11/6/18 Pina Cocolada Entremet

11/6/18 Pina Cocolada Entrement
Our offering for the Caribbean Culinary Lunch, is Pina Cocolada Entrement.

Cake is Glazed and Garnished

Plates Sauced and Cake Slice

Ready to Serve

11/5/18 Practice, Practice, Practice

11/5/18 Piping Practice: the first gel was too runny. Clean the template and practiced again!

Too runny

Better Definition

11/5/18 Morning Buns

11/5/18 As a baker, you find yourself returning to favorite and tried and true bakes. Usually, I try to bring a baked yeast sweet bread for my prayer group every Monday morning. Posted several times before, here is my old favorite: Morning Buns. I like the texture and the layers of the buttery bun. The recipe is fun to prepare using the "blitz method" for adding butter to the dough. Can we say BUTTER!! There is a hint of orange in the dough and orange zest in the filling.

Dough ready to be rolled

Rolled Dough, Notice the butter embedded in the dough

Baked Bun, Check out the layers

Plated and Ready for Delivery

11/3/18 Petit Fours for Sophie

11/3/18 While planning a baby shower for dear friends Mary Catherine and her new baby, Sophie, my friend Judy and I were creating a menu. Judy wanted Petit Fours for the occasion. Judy was our hostess for the event and is the mother and grandmother of the honorees.  Her source for Petit Fours was not available. We were thinking,,Hmmmm..who could we find to make these Petit Fours. It came to me in a flash: I am taking a Petit Fours class, I ought to be able to make them. I volunteered. Looking for recipes and video, I found recipes and a video with Martha Stewart. Can't go wrong with Martha Stewart! The recipe calls for a buttery pound cake. This was baked in a loaf pan and thinly sliced when done. Two slices were joined together with raspberry jam in between. The sandwiches were cut with a round cutter. Round shapes are a little easier to ice than a square shape. The rounds were not as even as I would like. Icing was poured over the rounds and drizzled with butter cream. The icing and butter cream drizzle seemed to even out the imperfections of the rounds. It was a very happy time for friends to meet Sophie and shower her with love and gifts!! Welcome to the world baby girl!!

Baked Buttery Pound Cake

Sliced sandwiched with Raspberry Jam

Rounds Cut From Cake

Iced Drizzled and Plated

A Very Happy Occasion!

10/31/18 European Cakes and Tortes Class

10/31/18 Several projects were going on in class today. We prepared Matcha Cake for Asian Lunch Service and Apple Strudel with Vanilla Ice Cream for Scandinavian Lunch Service at the Culinary School. Video of Class Prep: https://animoto.com/play/60To1NbUtBhx6sbZcQR6Pg

Matcha Cake Unmolded and Sauces

Ready for Service