Students Having Fun with Puff Pastry

Today's kitchen class was all about puff pastry.  We made Classic Puff and Blitz Puff and turned out pithiviers, bouchees, palmiers, conversations, cheese straws and napoleons from 2 full sheet per student of puff pastry.  With all 8 ovens, and students not checking their oven temperature, some were a little on the dark side, but overall, the lamination was great.  They all look very happy....

Red Velvet Cake: A Waldorf Astoria Hotel original

I had always believed that the Red Velvet Cake is a Southern Cake.  Today, I found a signed copy of the Waldorf Astoria Cookbook by former Executive Chef John Doherty, and he claims that  the red beet-colored favorite is an original Waldorf creation.

Oklahoma Sugar Show

I don't consider this as one of my best work, but a typical "rushed work"..When we decided to attend the Oklahoma Sugar Show, I decided, I might as well bring a cake.  It was a very hectic 2 weeks at school,  and after being a day late of the final submission of registrations, I ordered the styrofoam,  decided on the color of my cake, and started piping.  There was no expectation of winning, just the experience and joy of participation.  There were so many limiting circumstances, and to my surprise I made an "honorable mention" ribbon. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Museum of Science and Industry

For the  fourth year, we have been asked to create a gingerbread house for the temporary exhibit at The Museum of Science and Industry.  This year it is Charlie Brown.  The characters were all made of white chocolate bodies and modeling chocolate "clothing".  Snoopy's house is of gingerbread.

Pandan

when I forced my husband Jim to taste the pandan pichi pichi I was making for a lunch with Amy Besa and Consul Gen Leo Lim, he said it tasted of rice. When I did my research today, Basmati and Pandan have the same aromatic compound 2- acteyl-1-pyrroline. It also has other similar compounds shared with rose and saffron. Quite interesting. And that is why we put the cheaper pandan to the cheaper rice to make it taste like the expensive rice. The species whose leaves are used in cooking is amaryllifollius, while the species fascicularis(screwpine) uses the flower for flavoring. Fascicularis has well proven analgesic and antiinflammatory properties while amryllifollius has been  linked to the cell death of non hormone based breast cancer cells

Julia Child's 100th Birthday

To commemorate Le Cordon Bleu International's most famous graduate's birthday, I was asked to create a cake to celebrate her life and contribution to women chefs and French American cuisine.  The more you read about her life, the more you want to learn more about her passion and personality, her friends, her zest for life.  I actually feel bad that I never got to meet her, so I am honored to have created this cake to remember the things that she loved....

Pie Dough Making Tips

On August 11, I am teaching a class on pies.  I have yet to see the recipe packets from corporate but I assume there will be an apple and a berry, perhaps a quiche.  What is the secret to a good pie dough?  Everything cold.  You can even perhaps refrigerate the flour, use ice cold water and very cold butter.  You can substitute a different fat, margarine, shortening, lard, and as a matter of fact, shortening and lard will produce a flakier crust, b ut will be inferior in flavor.  A compromise is half-half.  Use a weaker flour, all purpose  is acceptable becasue of the affordability, but add about 3 ozs cake flour for every 16 ozs.  Some people like to add vodka because it only has 20 % water, and the alcohol dissipates during baking.  Gliadin, which is part of the gluten network is also soluble in alcohol, therefore contributes to the flakiness.  But, whatever you do, do not overwork the dough.  If using a mixer or a food processor, make sure you "pulse" the machine.  If doing it by hand, use a pastry blender or a bench scraper. Cut up your butter in small chunks before you add it to the flour.  I like to sprinkle all my water all over the flour all at once, so I limit my mixing.  I then transfer it to a plastic  bag and push until dough comes together. Always rest in the refrigerator for at least 20-30 minutes before using...

Now, with regards to preventing sogginess of pies....put your sheet pan way in advance of baking  in your preheated oven and place your pie on it, Start your oven at a higher temperature because you will lose a lot of heat when you open that door, you can sprinkle some bread crumbs or cake crumbs to absorb some of the juices from the filling, you can brush the bottom crust with eggwash, even butter, chocolate or sprnkle some cheese (for savory), use  the bottom rack of your oven, etc...

With regards to prebaked shells for fruit pies...I  have never ever made a fruit pie this way, and I seem to think I would be totally against the idea, but, at the same time, I ahve not seen or tasted one, so I will reserve my opinion until I do so....