Wednesday, December 30, 2009
One Word Wednesday . . . Sushi.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Faux Gingerbread House
Labels:
baking
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Let It Snow!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Omelets A La Justin - Our First Vlog!
Inspired by this video of Julia Child showing us how to make an omelet, Justin makes Christmas morning breakfast for me and his dad. Hope you enjoy our very first vlog.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
One Word Wednesday...Cutouts
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Colorful Side Dishes: Green Beans and Persimmons
We used Fuyu persimmons (the short and fat ones) with onion and fresh green beans. We rinsed and snapped our green beans and blanched them in boiling water for about 3 minutes. They aren't cooked all the way through but they should be a bright green. We plunged them into ice water to stop the cooking.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
My Favorite Appetizer to Share: Baked Brie in Puff Pastry
Here's the step-by-step for my rustic version:
• frozen puff pastry (which should be thawed in advance of when you want to use it) The Dufour brand says 2-3 hours but the Pepperidge Farm brand is a little less.
• raspberry jam
• a round of brie cheese
• an egg (optional)
• small cookie cutters or a knife to cut shapes (optional)
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Oil or use cooking spray to oil a cookie sheet.
I hope you like it as much as I do!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Food Science Friday: Pop Rocks!
You may wonder what is the science behind the magic of Pop Rocks? Students of the confectionery sciences should go directly to the source and review US Patent 4,289,794. In that work (1981) food scientists at General Foods described an improved the process that built on the prior art in order to maximize the popping sensation in the candy.
The basic process is fairly straightforward: a sugar blend is heated to a molten condition, quickly mixed with gas under pressure, and then cooled and solidified under pressure. You can imagine the resultant product as a hard sugar glass (like brittle) that is broken into tiny pieces, but with each shard containing many tiny pressurized gas bubbles (usually carbon dioxide). When the sugar starts to dissolve in your mouth the walls surrounding the bubbles break down and the pressure releases yielding the characteristic 'pop'.
The scientists at General Foods perfected this process by establishing heating and mixing conditions (near 280F) that created fairly large gas bubbles (most between 300-350 microns in diameter). A sensory panel helped establish the optimum conditions for creating bubbles that would maximize this popping sensation.
I wonder if the original scientists envisioned their invention being practiced once day as an inclusion in a chocolate bar also containing bacon?
Labels:
Food Science Friday
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
One Word Wednesday . . . Meringue
As a Midwestern boy I grew up with exceptional pie bakers. My personal universe of pie was ruled by the triumvirate of: rhubarb pie (Mom's specialty #1), minced meat pie (Grandma's specialty), and lemon meringue pie (Mom's specialty #2). On a recent visit, my Mom treated us to her lemon meringue . . .
I love the fact that this pie is a balanced duet that includes both sweetness and acid, smooth filling and fluffy topping, egg yolks in the filling and a perfect place for the whites in the soft peaks of the meringue.
A meringue is a foam. The egg whites contain the protein albumin, which (in the absence of the oily yolks) can be whipped to incorporate air to form a light and stable foam. Proteins stabilize foams by going to the microscopic interface between air bubble and the watery continuous phase, unfolding, and forming a film. The cream of tartar (aka tartaric acid) helps facilitate this protein structuring and--while not absolutely essential--can help the foams reach their maximum volume. The sugar in the meringue thickens it by immobilizing some of the water, more sugar will result in a firmer foam.
Labels:
baking,
One Word Wednesday
Monday, December 14, 2009
Marshmallow Monday
So, I'll share an easy recipe with you as well as some fun food science facts about marshmallows.
First, marshmallows are actually a foam- they are a made with sugar and gelatin with plenty of whipped in air. Click here for the recipe link and below I'll show you the step-by-step.
For more information about the different cooking stages of sugar, click on this link to the Exploratorium site on the Science of Candy. It's a great link and hilarious as well.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Tis the Season for Sweets: No-Bake Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• peppermint candies or candy canes
• white chocolate chips
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Nabisco famous chocolate wafers
• peppermint extract (optional)
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