Today, Ford Motor Company selected Hansen's Cakes to participate in the last leg of their National Media Event, promoting the new Ford Transit Van. We spent the day entertaining 46 members of the press (National & local,) fielding their questions about the history of Hansen's, what we do, where we deliver, etc...and telling them what we personally like about the new van that Ford presented.
We liked the Ford Transit so much, we made a cake to honor it. Ford liked the cake so much, they borrowed it for their End-of-Event-event tonight. All's well that ends well. . Now let's see if we get a free van...?!?
Now, we don't want you to think we were only creating that one van cake this week; here are a few highlights of some of the other cakes we're working on!
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Oh guys, it's taking every ounce of strength in me to not turn this post into a sob story about the best summer ever coming to a close, but I will keep my strength. It is difficult and a little painful. Same goes for these cookies--Baci di Dama. Baci di Dama is italian for "lady's kisses," how apt. Though, let's get real: they look a little bit like poops. Haha sorry, sorry...is anyone still reading this? Whatever, let's just think of them as the cookie sisters to Hershey's kisses. Unfortunately, the baked incarnation of this phrase is far more tedious and frustrating than actual lady's kisses, but what can you do.
Traditionally, Baci di Dama are made with hazelnuts I believe, but this recipe uses almonds. Once again I used almond meal instead of almonds that I ground up myself, and this time I think I should have ground them myself. The dough was a little too thick, which in part might have been because of how I whipped the egg whites, but also because the almond meal I was using is rather coarse.
Here's a question for all you meringue pros: after whipping the egg whites to stiff, glossy peaks, whenever I add the sugar, the mixture gets very sticky, heavy, and gunky. And as a result, I think my cookies aren't as light and airy as they could be. Remember the Hazelnut Cookies of yore? Same problem. I'd love any advice you guys have to give! Granted, this recipe does specifically state that the batter should be thick and sticky, but I still think I could get the cookies to be a tad lighter in the end.
Alright, so after you make the dough, you pipe it out into a bunch of kisses onto your cookie sheet and baked them. Tedious tedious tedious. But not so bad. Here's the bigger issue: Martha tells you to make the kisses have a little mound, or peak, at the top (like a Hershey's kiss, sorta), but that makes the whole procedure that follows quite difficult. You see, you make this ganache and are supposed to sandwich it between two cookies, but with the peaks--kisses, if you will--it becomes nearly impossible to stand them up in a way that will let the ganache set. If you lay them sideways, the top cookie slides off and the ganache oozes everywhere into a mess. So I tried to wedge the peaks of the cookies between the grates on my cooling rack, but it still sucked. And plus, the ganache really refuses to set unless you refrigerate the cookies, which doesn't really help their texture much in the long run. Not impressed, Martha.
So I managed to make a million or so of these cookies and only had three mental breakdowns in the process. I wouldn't really mind though if the cookies were totally delicious in the end, but they weren't. They just tasted "meh." I'm sure you can buy some really fantastic Baci di Dama in Little Italy or at some Italian bakery somewhere, but this recipe isn't worth all the effort it requires.
I'll just tell it to you straight: I wouldn't recommend making these cookies. They don't really look that gorgeous when complete (even in the picture in the book), they don't really taste that great, and therefore they aren't really worth spending an entire afternoon swearing and sweating. Just hand out some real kisses instead--they'll be appreciated more, by both the receiver and the giver.
xoxo
Baci di Dama
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen (but I got way way more)
Ingredients
Cookies
2 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Make cookies: Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high until egg whites form stiff peaks. Add the sugar slowly; continue beating until egg whites are very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in cocoa until combined. Stir in almonds; mix until completely blended. Batter should be quite thick and sticky.
Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe teaspoon-size, peaked mounds onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake until slightly cracked, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets several minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Making filling: In a small bowl, combine shortening and melted chocolate. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate onto flat side of cookie; place another cookie on top. Press together gently so chocolate oozes out slightly. Return cookie to wire rack to set; repeat with remaining cookies. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
****
{End Results} Baking Difficultly: 4.5/5 Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5 Tastiness: 2/5 Attractiveness: 3/5 Is it worth it?: No.
{Pairings}
Drink: I think these would go nicely with an espresso, something small to go with their size.
I got this recipe from the Recipe Card Swap on Bubblyfunk Forum It is a lovely colour and tastes very nice, it would have been nicer had I used the butter and cream that was recommended but I stuck to a little oil and some milk as I am trying not to eat too much fat at the moment, still put in the sherry though lol. Mind you, I HAD to have doughnut today as it was someone's birthday and we always have 'buns' on birthdays - it wouldn't have been polite to refuse now would it? hee hee hee.
Serves 4 1 onion, chopped 25g butter 450g carrots peeled and sliced 1 potato, diced 750mil chicken stock pinch ground ginger pinch ground cinnamon salt and pepper to taste 150ml single cream 2tbsp dry sherry (optional) chopped parsley, to garnish
1. Ina heavy based saucepan, melt the butter then fry the onion gently until soft but not browned. 2. Add the sliced carrots and diced potato, stirring until well coated with butter. 3. Add the stock, spieces and seaonsing to the pan 4. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes 5. put the soup into a blender of food processor and blend until smooth. 6. Return the soup to the pan, then stir in the cream and sherry and heat through without boiling. Serve sprinkled with parsley. You can prepare ahead and freeze it after step 5.
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Title: the Wisor Trio does Ease down the road by Bonnie Prince Billy
We performed at the Carrot Arts Community Cafe- this is one of the songs we did... thanks, mr. oldham. filmed by the spectacular Lisa Swaren!
Title: Chef Merlin: Coq Au Vin
This episode is the first of three episodes that I have produced that focus on French Cuisine.
In this episode, I show how to make Coq Au Vin. Actually, what I made is a little closer to Coq Au Vin Jaune as I used Dry Cooking Sherry in the place of Red Wine. Sherry is a fortified wine, which has similar aroma and taste to a yellow wine. If you plan on making Coq Au Vin, I suggest you use Red Wine to make real Coq Au Vin... unless Sherry is all you have (it is good... just not real Coq Au Vin). Here are the ingredients that you will need:
Half an onion (Diced)
1 Clove of Garlic (diced)
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Sliced Carrot
1 Cup of Sliced Mushrooms
1 Tbs. Flour
Parsley
Bay Leaf (diced)
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
2 Cups of Red Wine
*Serves two*
Check out my other videos in this series: Sauceless French Bread Pizza and Ratatouille.
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I am a firm believer in the principle that "anyone can cook," and invite viewers from all backgrounds and all levels of cooking experience to join me in creating some nice meals. Feel free to make changes to my recipes as you see fit.
I hope you will subscribe to my videos and share with me your experiences with my recipes, including changes you make.
These pan-fried potatoes make for a wonderful accompaniment to lamb and other meat dishes, and they are incredibly simple and easy to make: peel and cut waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes into wedges, put them in a non-stick frying pan with olive oil, a sprig of rosemary and a slightly crushed but unpeeled clove of garlic (or two). Saute the potatoes for a few minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper, to allow them to insaporire (see glossary) and to brown ever so slightly. Then add a splash of white wine and water to cover them about halfway. Cover and lower the heat to medium. Allow them to simmer until the water has evaporated (this should only take a few minutes). Test for doneness: stick a paring knife into a potato wedge; if you cannot lift the wedge with your knife, it is done. (NB: Thanks to Rouxbe for this tip!) Then raise the flame to high and brown the potatoes a bit (they should not be overly brown, just spottled here and there). Now for a little trick: do not serve the potatoes right away. The have much better flavor and texture if you let them 'rest' for a while with the cover on. If you like your potatoes hot, then gently re-heat them. I am not sure of the chemistry here, but the rest makes a world of difference.
NOTES: This is a simple dish, obviously, and not really very tricky. But there are one or two points to keep in mind. Most importantly, you need to use waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes—the kind you would use for potato salad. If you use mealy potatoes such as Russets (and, I suspect, even so-called 'all purpose' potatoes) you will wind up with something close to lumpy mashed potatoes. The other point is not to brown the potatoes too much; these are not meant to taste or feel like French fries in the mouth. You want just a little caramelization, mostly for some extra depth of flavor and a little color.
Pan-roasted potatoes can also be (and, in fact, are usually) made with entirely 'dry' heat (i.e., without adding wine or water) but I find that combining dry and wet heat speeds the cooking process and also provides a finer texture.
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Title: Polpette e patate in padella
Piatto semplice e veloce da cucinare . Un modo in più per preparare le polpette.
Title: La mano fasciata di Mara Venier, ustionata mentre cucinava le patate
Piccolo incidente domestico per Mara Venier che ha confessato di avere trascorso la notte al pronto soccorso per un'ustione. 'Ieri sera sono tornata a casa - ha raccontato la Venier -, ho cucinato le patate al rosmarino in padella e mi sono ustionata. A mezzanotte ero al pronto soccorso che mi curavano perche' ho la mano sinistra ustionata. Ho passato la notte davvero con un dolore pazzesco'.
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Here's another quick pasta and zucchine dish. While tagliatelle alle zucchine is delicate and refined, this dish--using similar ingredients--has an entirely different character, rough and ready and full of flavor.
Fry zucchine sliced into disks in olive oil with a slightly crushed clove of garlic and a few fresh bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. When the zucchine slices are lightly browned (see photo below left) turn off the heat and remove the bay leaves. In the meanwhile, boil your linguine in well salted water. When done, turn them into the pan with the zucchine and add a generous dollop of ricotta cheese and abundant pecorino cheese. Mix well, adding a ladleful of pasta water to make a 'sauce' that will coat the linguine well. Serve immediately topped with some more pecorino.
That's all there is to it, but the result is incredibly satisfying.
Fried zucchine, ready for the pasta
NOTES: I 'invented' this dish at the spur of the moment, using things that I had on hand: zucchine, some ricotta left over from making the gnocchi nudi last Thursday, a bit of pecorino cheese--which I always have around--and the fresh bay leaves, which caught my eye while shopping. Of course, this dish isn't really original--the combination of pasta, zucchine and ricotta is a classic. But my riff on the classic recipe was to substitute linguine, fresh bay leaves and pecorino for the usual penne, basil and parmesan. Shows you what you can do at the spur of the moment, with a bit of imagination and some knowledge of classic dishes.
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I had a notion for something with peanut butter in it. I buy the Whole Earth Crunchy original peanut butter, but haven't had any for some time. While blog hopping round the cooking blogs, I saw some muffins with pb and choc chips, I decided not to make those but went in search of a cookie recipe featuring the same ingredients.
Preheat oven to 375°F/190C/Fan oven 170C/Gas Mark 5. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy. Blend the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together well. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
It was a dream of a mix to make and came out just the right texture.
No fancy fiddling making into balls and getting all sticky, just wallop down a teaspoon of dough and put it in the oven.
As usual my cookies varied from slightly over done to slightly underdone with some perfect ones! I'm hoping that my new cooker will cook more evenly, I think it is because the door seal on the old oven has really past it's best so heat escapes from the front of the oven.
As there were really far too many cookies for us to eat (we would have eaten them all because they are delicious, but it wouldn't have been good for us) I made up a little package to take to a Party Lite party I had been invited to last night. This is where crafting meets cooking! I'm even beginning to quite like my own handwriting!
The cookies got 5 stars on the About.com site and I would agree.
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Title: It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!
Animation by by Ryan Gancenia Etrata.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/banana
Dancing Banana - Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Title: Peanut Butter & Jelly
This is just a random music video I made for kicks to a song that I LOVE!
It's sung by the LDS (Mormon, but don't jump to conclusions.) A Capella group, InsideOut. They are wonderfully talented. This song is from their album 'Sharing Time'. You can find it on iTunes.
It's lame, but I had fun making it. PB&J forever!
Oh, and I know that Jelly is really jam, but seriously. I looked everywhere and could find Raspberry Jelly. So I decided that Jam would have to do. So just enjoy it despite this detail. I do.
Stroke of genius. How did I not think of this before. Oh man oh man.
Okay, let me back up. Backstory first. Well, there's no really backstory per se, but more of a source of inspiration. Barbecues; grills; charcoal. Fire! This is how we cook foods during the hottest days of the summer in order to avoid heating up our kitchen to hellish temperatures, right? Oven-roasting is out, as is loading up all 4 burners with huge pots of boiling water and simmering stews, and obviously baking seems completely out of the question. Thus the spareness of posts on this blog (or at least, that's the excuse du jour). So how to get around this issue without confining all baking to the wee hours of the night, if we are to do it at all?
Here's my great, albeit hair-brained, idea: BBQ'd cookies!!!!!!!!
Okay, okay, I can feel your collective eye-rolling coming at me from all over cyberspace--it sounds ridiculous, but hear me out. You make sure to make a cookie dough that doesn't spread hardly at all, so as to avoid it dripping in between the grill bars. And the dough will have nuts it in, because fire roasted nuts are next to godliness. And then, once grilled, you serve these cookies with grilled fruits (grilled peaches anyone??). Dollop with ice cream. Dessert. Done.
Alright, so maybe that won't work. But here's a more rational idea: what about putting your cookie sheet (or other metal heat-enduring surface) on top of your grill and then closing the lid, essentially using your BBQ like an outdoor oven. Does that work? Has anyone tried that?
Anyway, these cookies here, these Maple-Pecan Shortbread don't exactly seem like a super summery cookie (more of an autumnal one, in my opinion, what with the maple and the pecans and the everything), but I made them for both a summer picnic, as well as a 4th of July BBQ at my brother and sister-in-law's house, and they were a hit at both events. These cookies are really good. Surprisingly so. In fact, they might have been even more of a hit at the 4th of July BBQ since by then they were a day old, and these guys improve with age FOR SURE.
So you got ya dough, which has ground up pecans in it as well as a hefty amount of maple syrup, and after the baked cookies have sat around for a day, the maple flavor really deepens. Actually, the recipe also calls for Maple Extract, which I couldn't find anywhere so I omitted it--and no problem! The cookies were still extremely mapley, but I bet they would be really incredible if you have maple extract on hand as well.
Lastly, because you roll out the dough and cut it with a cookie cutter, and then decorate each cookie with a pecan half and some turbinado sugar, you WITHOUT A DOUBT produce a beautiful set of cookies. You can't really screw up the look of these, unless you don't know how to use a cookie cutter (and if that's your situation, you probably shouldn't be reading my blog, juss sayin'). So, they are perfect to bring to a party if you want to impress people but not do anything too elaborate. Simplicity is highly underrated in baking!
And very very lastly, if you are just crazy enough to try either of my BBQ cookie ideas--LET ME KNOW SO WE CAN BE FRIENDS FOREVER!! If you send pictures, I will love you even more/think you are even crazier/admire you a lot. And even if you bake these in the normal way, I will admire you for enduring the oppressive heat of your kitchen in the name of tastiness!
P.P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos! I was too busy eating cookie dough/pecans to grab my camera during the baking process -_-
Maple-Pecan Shortbread
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pecan halves (about 2 1/4 ounces), finely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure maple extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
Into a medium bowl, sift flours and salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup chopped pecans, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about one minute. Add the maple syrup, egg yolk, and extract; beat on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Dough should be smooth and pliable. Flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, 1 1/2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a two-inch cookie cutter; place one inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg; sprinkle centers with remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Sprinkle the entire surface with turbinado sugar.
Bake cookies, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to four days.
****
{End Results} Baking Difficultly: 2/5 Ingredient Accessibility: 2/5 (Maple extract, where y'at?!) Tastiness: 4.5/5 Attractiveness: 4/5 Is it worth it?: Hell yeah! Worth firing up the ol' oven in July...maybe...
{Pairings} Drink: I'd wash these guys down with some iced tea, perhaps with a sprig or two of sage thrown in? (That's how my ma makes hers, and it's da bomb diggity!)
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Title: Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete - 083 - Boss Battle #21 - Phantom Sentry
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Boss Battle #21
Phantom Sentry
==============================
Strategy?
It's another cookie cutter boss really. Same 'ol strategy of spending the first turn buffing everyone, and spamming attacks until it dies. The only thing to note is that whenever the boss sucks the party in front of it, the boss will 1hko everyone that's still there the next turn. So, you MUST move your party out of the way. Other than that, it's a simple boss.
Hiro: Triple Sword!
Ronfar: Happy Hour! Heal when necessary.
Jean: Blue Dragon Palm!
Lemina: Burning Rage! Then Catastrophe to deal damage.
Leo: Soul Blade!
==============================
Again, another simple boss battle.
After the battle, we find the Right Opal Jewel from the beginning of the game. Time to find the Left Sapphire Jewel.
2010 not only marks the start of a new decade, but the beginning of an anti-aging revolution. The beauty and grooming industry is filled to the brim with zillions of lotions, creams, washes and assorted serums all claiming to delay the common physical signs of aging. Everything from crow’s feet and laugh lines to 11’s between your eyebrows, however out of all of these products how many of them actually deliver on their “fountain of youth” claims?
Nu Skin has always prided itself on utilizing superior research and development to provide their customers with the most effective products available, which is clearly evident in their new ageLOC ™ science. What makes the ageLOC ™ series of products from Nu Skin different from the majority is that they not only target the signs of aging, but also the sources of aging by identifying groups of genes known as “youth gene clusters” which regulate how we look as we age. The ageLOC ™ products support resetting these gene clusters to their youthful patterns of activity, going far and beyond the status quo.
Brand new for 2010 is the ageLOC™ Future Serum, the latest Nu Skin product to utilize this revolutionary “turn back the clock” technology. This powerful, clinically tested anti-aging treatment product preserves the look of youth and reduces the appearance of aging in eight key ways:
1. Youthful skin structure: patent-pending ingredient technology stimulates collagen production three times greater than normal and provides a 60 percent decrease in harmful MMP production
2. Smooth skin texture: contains ingredients proven to stimulate youthful cell renewal for noticeably smoother and softer skin
3. Even skin tone: reduces the appearance of blotchy, dull and uneven skin
4. Reduced appearance of lines and wrinkles: a powerful anti-aging blend reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for more visually youthful skin
5. Radiant skin: includes skin brightening technology
6. Reduced appearance of pore size: reduces the appearance of pore size through youthful cell turnover
7. Reduced skin discoloration: skin brightening technology interrupts unwanted melanin production in the skin for a reduction in spots of discoloration
8. Hydrated skin: increases hydration by stimulating hyaluronic acid production, a moisturizing compound found naturally in the skin
The ageLOC™ Future Serum successfully addresses more signs of aging than any other Nu Skin product and is gently formulated, providing powerful ingredients in a mild formula that is neither drying nor irritating to the skin. As if this was not enough, this top-notch product is also paraben free and starts to show results in as few as seven days!
The ageLOC™ Future Serum is priced at $157.00 for a 30-day supply on automatic delivery and is available through your local Nu Skin distributor, which I am call 1-914 673 -3386 or visit www.nuskin.com .
I would love the opportunity to work with you to review this breakthrough new anti-aging product. You too will see that the proof is in the serum. I am positive that your readers will tune in to learn how to get their skin looking and feeling younger in “8 ways in just 7 days!”
Please let me know if you would like additional information or product photos. I hope that we can work together on a product review. If you are interested, please provide me with your mailing address so I can get the product mailed out to you and you can test it first-hand.
Recipes, food and cooking information. Search recipes by title and ingredient. Recipes, cooking ideas, baking tips, and more. Browse hundreds of easy chicken recipes including pies, curries, stir-fries and pasta dishes.
Today, Ford Motor Company selected Hansen's Cakes to participate in the last leg of their National Media Event, promoting the new Ford Transit Van.
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