So it has now been a year and I am beginning to worry that I will never actually get around to posting the recipes and photos for the things that I made, so instead I will just post a list of the items that you unfortunately will not get to see at this time.
Lime-coconut macaroons with haupia (coconut pudding) filling and chili chocolate dipping sauce
Chocolate-espresso scones
Coconut Creme Caramel
Poffertjes
Tiramisu
Vegan Date and Cashew Truffles
Oregano Flat bread
Beer Bread (multiple versions)
Walnut-Carob Biscotti
Sopapillas
Pannekoeken (Dutch pancakes)
Walnut and Brown Sugar Roll
Camembert, Fig and Basil Puffs
Chicken and Cheese Pretzel Bites
Cinnamon Rolls
Sweet Granola
Savoury Granola
Honey Florentines
Rootbeer Cake
A Decadent Morning: Waffle Sandwiches
Vegan Raspberry Cookies
Broiler Cake
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
12 December 2010
04 August 2010
Absence: explained...
Well, I haven't posted here is a long time and I thought I might as well explain why. I started a large number of posts a few months back after a flurry of cooking and never got around to finishing them (mostly due to the fact I misplaced there pictures). Nonetheless, I will try to finish them up shortly and back post them to the proper dates, plus add links below
07 January 2010
Georgias
A few weeks ago I was in the mood to make some cookies unfortunately, as I often find myself, I lacked both the time and the ingredients necessary to make my cookies of choice. Inevitably, I was drawn to the internet for the solution to my conundrum. The result of this meandering was that I not only found a fantastic new recipe for a cream cheese based cookies, but also a very good use for the 12 oz. of cream cheese I had happened to procure.
When I originally made this recipe, I put little chocolate chips on the tops of all the cookies save one which I dropped a bit of jam on, just as an experiment. While all of the cookies were a big success, the one cookie with jam was fantastic which got me thinking.
GEORGIAS
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup dimari sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Powdered Sugar
Directions
When I originally made this recipe, I put little chocolate chips on the tops of all the cookies save one which I dropped a bit of jam on, just as an experiment. While all of the cookies were a big success, the one cookie with jam was fantastic which got me thinking.
GEORGIAS
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup dimari sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Powdered Sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Layer cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, cream, and vanilla. Stir in flour until well blended. Divide dough into two batches.
- Using one batch of dough, drop by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets and press into approximately 1” flat circles.
- Using a 1/2 tsp measure, depress small indentations into all of the cookies and then fill with strawberry jam (can be substituted for others). In a small bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll out the other batch of dough to approximately 1/4”. Slice into 1/2” by 1 1/2” strips.
- Place one strip in the powdered sugar and one strip in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and then place both of the strips on the cookie (see picture).
- Repeat for all cookies. If the dough becomes to dry (and starts to crack) just roll it out again.
- Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Cookies should be pale.
- After cooled on a wire rack, these cookies can be stored in an airtight container and keep well.
27 October 2009
Experimental Gastronomy
If you had told me the phrase experimental gastronomy about a year ago I would have looked at you with bewilderment and confusion. If you had told me the phrase experimental gastronomy about six months ago, I would have looked at you with disdain and (probably) haughty-ness. Needless to say, the subject of experimental gastronomy is a recent and please-tread-lightly subject both in and out of the food world.
In the strictest sense, experimental gastronomy simply means being different/experimenting with food. These can range from being as docile as throwing some chilies into a chocolate ganache to as extreme as distilling the essence of pineapples into a liquid and then injecting them into vines to make grapes that taste tropical. As can be imagined, some of these experiments are more successful than others but all, at least on some level are interesting.
While most references to experimental gastronomy refer only to the act of cooking itself, I have recently stumbled across some pretty exciting 'experimental' designs in both restaurants service and design, which I felt could be justifiably included with little explanation. However, in order to not make this post ridiculously long, I have split up each section into its own post, which can be accessed by the links provided.
Enjoy:
Molecular Gastronomy Experimental Service Experimental Design
In the strictest sense, experimental gastronomy simply means being different/experimenting with food. These can range from being as docile as throwing some chilies into a chocolate ganache to as extreme as distilling the essence of pineapples into a liquid and then injecting them into vines to make grapes that taste tropical. As can be imagined, some of these experiments are more successful than others but all, at least on some level are interesting.
While most references to experimental gastronomy refer only to the act of cooking itself, I have recently stumbled across some pretty exciting 'experimental' designs in both restaurants service and design, which I felt could be justifiably included with little explanation. However, in order to not make this post ridiculously long, I have split up each section into its own post, which can be accessed by the links provided.
Enjoy:
26 October 2009
Experimental Gastronomy (in Food)
Molecular gastronomy is a type of cooking which is all about reinventing food through science. One of my first introductions into pure 'molecular gastronomy' was through a Daring Cooks challenge in which the participants had to create powdered forms of foods like apple, tomato, carrot, and lemon. My reaction to the form of food was a bipolarity of emotions in which I was fascinated by and dismissed the concept as pretentious bullshit. Since then, I have discovered many new forms of molecular gastronomy, many of which are interesting and innovative, but the overarching haze of elitism has never moved that far away.
Probably what I found the most exciting example of molecular gastronomy was a post on parfaits by the webzine Luxirare. The zines creator Ji, said that she was interested taking the simple concept of the yougurt parfait and making it more provocative. I really like this post and this blog in general because it is very well enticingly laid out and the photography is incredible.
Probably what I found the most exciting example of molecular gastronomy was a post on parfaits by the webzine Luxirare. The zines creator Ji, said that she was interested taking the simple concept of the yougurt parfait and making it more provocative. I really like this post and this blog in general because it is very well enticingly laid out and the photography is incredible.
Experimental Service (in Restaurants)
Experimental Service might bring to mind the image of a small robot whizzing around with an insurmountable number of plates or the waitstaff abuse you and you pay for it (see Dick's Last Resort), depending on the size and breadth of your imagination. However, both of these are quite far from the restaurant I have in mind.
The establishment is a tiny gem hidden away in the back streets of Tokyo called Aronia de Takazawa. It contains only two tables and has no michelin stars, but don't let that fool for a second into thinking it is anything less than on of the most magnificent culinary experiences you would ever have.
The restaurant, managed by Akiko Takazawa with food prepared by Yoshiaki Takazawa, is the picture of the Japanese minimalist aesthetic. The whole restaurant, which could see around twenty people is instead limited to under ten. The reason for this is that the food 'experience' is modeled after the tea ceremony, in which form, presentation, and procedure are sacrosanct and the host plays a critical role. A meal at the Aronia de Takazawa features between ten and eleven courses, all hand crafted my Takazawa and can be as simple as plate of vegetables grown by the chef's uncle and grandfather or a complex as a vegetable terrine made out of tiny cubes of vegetable, each marinated in its own unique sauce and assembled into a rectangle the size of a zippo light and takes Takazawa an entire day to make.
(If you are interested in a review of an entire meal, check out this article where I got most of my information)
This kind of service does not come cheap though, and will cost upwards of $260 per person in addition to a reservation a few weeks in advance and don't expect to get a table all for your lonesome. However, you can try to simulate the experience for much cheaper via this video found on the restaurant's website. Also, look on the bright side this is much easier than getting a table on similarly priced Michelin restaurants such as The French Laundry, which you have to reserve more than a year in advance)
The establishment is a tiny gem hidden away in the back streets of Tokyo called Aronia de Takazawa. It contains only two tables and has no michelin stars, but don't let that fool for a second into thinking it is anything less than on of the most magnificent culinary experiences you would ever have.
The restaurant, managed by Akiko Takazawa with food prepared by Yoshiaki Takazawa, is the picture of the Japanese minimalist aesthetic. The whole restaurant, which could see around twenty people is instead limited to under ten. The reason for this is that the food 'experience' is modeled after the tea ceremony, in which form, presentation, and procedure are sacrosanct and the host plays a critical role. A meal at the Aronia de Takazawa features between ten and eleven courses, all hand crafted my Takazawa and can be as simple as plate of vegetables grown by the chef's uncle and grandfather or a complex as a vegetable terrine made out of tiny cubes of vegetable, each marinated in its own unique sauce and assembled into a rectangle the size of a zippo light and takes Takazawa an entire day to make.
(If you are interested in a review of an entire meal, check out this article where I got most of my information)
This kind of service does not come cheap though, and will cost upwards of $260 per person in addition to a reservation a few weeks in advance and don't expect to get a table all for your lonesome. However, you can try to simulate the experience for much cheaper via this video found on the restaurant's website. Also, look on the bright side this is much easier than getting a table on similarly priced Michelin restaurants such as The French Laundry, which you have to reserve more than a year in advance)
Experimental Design (in Restaurants)
Experimental Design in a restaurant does not mean anything that you are thinking about. Seriously. In the Ogori (おごり) Cafe, the name of the restaurant, when you arrive you immediately order something upon arrival. This is where the 'experimental' bit comes in; you rarely get what you order. Instead you get what the person before you ordered. And the person after you gets what you ordered. And so on and so forth.
Personally, I think that this concept for a restaurant's design is one of the most innovative things I have ever heard about. The reason why is surmised in something Cabel Sasser (whose blog I found this wonder on) wrote about his experience there: "It forced one to "let go", just for a brief moment, of the total control we're so used to exerting through commerce. It led you to taste something new, that you might not normally have ordered. It was a delight."
Unfortunately I don't think this will ever work anywhere I live (too many people worried about weight or allergies or being picky eaters but until then I get to Japan and visit the Ogori Cafe for myself, I will be content wanting water, making a sandwich, and replying ありがとございます (thank you) to no one in particular.
Personally, I think that this concept for a restaurant's design is one of the most innovative things I have ever heard about. The reason why is surmised in something Cabel Sasser (whose blog I found this wonder on) wrote about his experience there: "It forced one to "let go", just for a brief moment, of the total control we're so used to exerting through commerce. It led you to taste something new, that you might not normally have ordered. It was a delight."
Unfortunately I don't think this will ever work anywhere I live (too many people worried about weight or allergies or being picky eaters but until then I get to Japan and visit the Ogori Cafe for myself, I will be content wanting water, making a sandwich, and replying ありがとございます (thank you) to no one in particular.
19 September 2009
Food Photography
One of my favorite types of photography is the photography of food. There is a lot that goes into making a dish; the balancing of flavours, the correct ratio of ingredients, the careful attention to process, all necessary in order to create the final product. However, for me the additional steps of the correct choice of plate, the arranging of the garnish and the balancing of colour are just if not even more important.
I love the idealized image of food, the food that looks so good you wish you could pluck it out into reality and eat it right then and there. When I was first getting interested in photography (or at least making photography that was more than a point-and-shoot moment on a vacation) food photography was one of the things that I dedicated most of my attention to.
The unfortunate thing about food photography is that most of the professional work (most of what you seen catalogs and television adverts) is completely inedible. This is because the 'food' is made for photographing and then is simply thrown away, so they can do things like substitute motor oil for chocolate sauce, or place metal rods through sandwiches to hold them together. Using artifice to facsimile pure skill.
Now, in my opinion, that is kinda against the point. Making food that looks so succulent you want to eat your screen but is actually inedible is just oxymoronic. For this reason, I choose to only photograph edible food — food that looks (and tastes) amazing — and really admire andrespect those photographers who do the same.
So, on that note, this week's photo essay is some homages to those foodies who choose to pictures of real food. Some are professionals going against the grain, some are amateurs having fun, but all are photographs of pure, real food.
Credit: Bake List
Credit: Lemonpi
Credit: Zested
Credit: Luxirare
Credit: There's a Newf in My Soup
Credit: Veggie Wedgie
Credit: Natalie's Killer Cuisine
Credit: Not Martha
Credit: The Purple Foodie
Credit: Khuboz Photos
I love the idealized image of food, the food that looks so good you wish you could pluck it out into reality and eat it right then and there. When I was first getting interested in photography (or at least making photography that was more than a point-and-shoot moment on a vacation) food photography was one of the things that I dedicated most of my attention to.
The unfortunate thing about food photography is that most of the professional work (most of what you seen catalogs and television adverts) is completely inedible. This is because the 'food' is made for photographing and then is simply thrown away, so they can do things like substitute motor oil for chocolate sauce, or place metal rods through sandwiches to hold them together. Using artifice to facsimile pure skill.
Now, in my opinion, that is kinda against the point. Making food that looks so succulent you want to eat your screen but is actually inedible is just oxymoronic. For this reason, I choose to only photograph edible food — food that looks (and tastes) amazing — and really admire andrespect those photographers who do the same.
So, on that note, this week's photo essay is some homages to those foodies who choose to pictures of real food. Some are professionals going against the grain, some are amateurs having fun, but all are photographs of pure, real food.
Credit: Bake List
Credit: Lemonpi
Credit: Zested
Credit: Luxirare
Credit: There's a Newf in My Soup
Credit: Veggie Wedgie
Credit: Natalie's Killer Cuisine
Credit: Not Martha
Credit: The Purple Foodie
Credit: Khuboz Photos
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