Underwater Barbie

Personality: Moist vanilla cake with silky vanilla frosting, coated with glittery fondant layers and embelishments. 

What's Baking?

Summer Birthdays are keeping us busy with many fun cakes, here are some of the latest.

Elegant Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. Covered with fondant and adorned with gumpaste flowers.

Super fun vanilla cake with chocolate fudge filling. Topped with a fondant octopus and sugar silver pearls.

Daring Cook's June Challenge: Healthy Potato Salads

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

There are a million recipes for healthy potato salads, my favorite one is actually the Russian "Selyodka pod Shuboy" or "Herring under Fur Coat."It is a delicious and nutritious salad with many vegetables and a beautiful presentation when you slice through and see all the different colors. It reminds me or a rainbow really!

As always, I made a few changes to the original recipe. I made it healthier and just as tasty.

The ingredients are as follows:
2 large potatoes
4 eggs
4 medium carrots peeled
1 can sliced beets/ or 2 beets
5 large slices of smoked salmon (the original recipe uses herring, but it can sometimes be hard to find and it is very oily)
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
2 TBS nonfat yogurt
Salt and Pepper as needed

1. Boil the potatoes and carrots together. You can choose to leave the skin on the potatoes or not, i find it helps them hold together during cooking. When soft, drain and allow to cool.

2. Boil the eggs

3. If you are using raw beets, roast them or boil them until soft. If using canned, skip this part.

4. When vegetables are cooked, shred them with a grater.

5. When the potatoes, beets and carrots are shredded, set them aside.

6. With the back of a fork, crush the egg with the mayonnaise and the yogurt. If you have an egg slicer, slice the egg into strips by cutting once and then cutting parallel. Even though the mayo is light, add a little yogurt to make it creamier without the added fat and calories. It tastes just as good. Season with salt and pepper.

7. When you have all of your components ready, arrange them into separate bowls to make it easier to assemble your layered salad.

8. You can assemble the salad in clear glasses like I did, or place them in a deep dish that you can then unmould and slice. It will look beautiful when you arrange all the layers carefully.

9. Arrange a layer of salmon to cover the bottom of the dish, then top with potatoes, egg mixture, carrots, potatoes, egg mixture, beets, egg mixture.  The order doesn't really matter and if you want to double up on some layers of your favorite vegetable, do so. They key is to make it as colorful as possible so that it looks like an edible rainbow!  In the original version of this recipe there is a layer of mayonnaise between each vegetable layer (to hold it all together when you unmould). I decided to mix the mayonnaise with the egg so that we have more flavor in a smaller bite. It's really super flexible and did I mention it takes only 20 minutes to make?

Underwater Barbie Doll

Personality: Moist vanilla cake with silky vanilla frosting, coated with glittery fondant layers and embelishments. 

Daring Baker's May Challenge: Chocolate Marquise on Meringue

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

I was excited to try this challenge because of the different textures involved. I decided to do my own twist on this, Chocolate marquise with candied cashews and torched meringue with lime zest. It was refreshing and really easy to make, It looks intimidating with all the steps but it will take you about 1 and a half hours total to put it together!  Enjoy!

Chocolate Base
Servings: n/a - this is an ingredient for the chocolate marquise, not meant to be used separately

Ingredients
12 oz (340 grams/ 1½ cups) bittersweet chocolate (about 70% cocoa)
12 oz (355 ml/ 1½ cups) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup (60 ml/ 2 fluid oz.) tequila
1/4 cup (60 ml/ 2 fluid oz.) light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons/ less than an ounce) cocoa powder (we used extra brut, like Hershey's Special Dark, but any Dutch-processed cocoa would be fine. Do not substitute natural cocoa powder.)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 oz unsalted butter (2 tbsps./30 grams), softened

Directions:

1. Place the chocolate in a small mixing bowl.
2. In a double-boiler, warm the cream until it is hot to the touch (but is not boiling). Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.

3. Allow it to sit for a minute or two before stirring. Stir until the chocolate is melted completely and is smooth throughout.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
5. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Do not refrigerate, as the base needs to be soft when added to the marquise mixture. If you make it the day before, you may need to warm it slightly. Whisk it until it is smooth again before using it in the marquise recipe.

Chocolate Marquise

Servings: 18 2.5"x2.5" cubes
Ingredients
11 large egg yolks at room temperature
4 large whole eggs
2/3 cup (150 grams/ 5.3 oz) sugar
1/3 cup (2⅔ fluid oz/ 80 ml.) water
Chocolate Base, barely warm (recipe follows)
2 cups (16 fluid oz./ 500 ml.) heavy cream
2 cups Dutch process cocoa powder (for rolling) (Note: We used extra brut, like Hershey's Special Dark. Make sure it's a Dutch processed cocoa, not a natural cocoa powder.)

Directions:

Before you begin, prepare your mould, weather a pan or a tube like mold. Cover it with plastic wrap and spray with pam so that the chocolate mixture will slide off easily.

I made tubes and a circle. If you want you can even use a tupperware covered in saran wrap.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and whole eggs. Whip on high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 - 15 minutes.

When the eggs are getting close to finishing, make a sugar syrup by combining the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring the syrup to a boil and then cook to softball stage (235F/115C).

With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle the sugar syrup into the fluffy eggs, trying to hit that magic spot between the mixing bowl and the whisk.

 

When all of the syrup has been added (do it fairly quickly), turn the mixer back on high and whip until the bowl is cool to the touch. This will take at least 10 minutes.

 

In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside.

When the egg mixture has cooled, add the chocolate base to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Try to get it as consistent as possible without losing all of the air you've whipped into the eggs.
Fold 1/3 of the reserved whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Pour or pipe chocolate into the prepared moulds and freeze.

When frozen, cut  your marquise into cubes or desired shape and roll them in cocoa powder. These will start to melt almost immediately, so don't do this step until all of your other plating components (meringue) are ready. The cubes need to sit in the fridge to slowly thaw so plating components can be done during that time. They don’t need to be ready before the cubes are rolled in the cocoa powder.

Torched Meringue

Servings: Makes about 2 – 2½ cups of meringue. If you aren't planning on serving *all* of the marquise at once, you might want to scale this recipe back a bit.
Ingredients
6 large egg whites
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (210 ml) (7 oz or 200 gms) sugar
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Candied Cashews

Ingredients1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp water
1 cup cashews
1 pinch Cayenne pepper
1 cup powdered chocolate

Toast the cashews with the Cayenne pepper until browned.
Meanwhile make a caramel with the sugar and water until soft ball stage.
When the caramel is ready, take off the heat and stir in cashews. Stir immediately
Pour into the cocoa powder and let it coat.

Sift the excess off with a sieve.

Plating

Place the meringue on the plate and torch it.

Put the marquise on the plate and all the other components. I also added some lime zest. It was really refreshing with the meringue. A little goes a long way!

Stardust on TV

I was asked by Linda Kaye's Partymakers to help out with their TV segment on TV Land's best night in.

Check it out!

Daring Cook's May Challenge: Gumbo

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I've never really had Creole food so this was an exciting challenge. Gumbo.. it's so raved about by everyone that I was thrilled and eager to get my hands dirty! After a little research I found the definition of a gumbo to be a thick, dark soup containing a mixture of rice, vegetables, and meat or seafood. The vast majority of gumbos fall into one of three categories:  Seafood Gumbo, containing some combination of oysters, shrimp, crawfish, and/or crabs, and more often made with okra than filé; Poultry and Sausage gumbo, which uses either chicken or turkey in combination with pieces of andouille or other smoked sausage, and more often made with filé than okra; and the increasingly rare Gumbo Z’Herbes, a meatless soup created for Lent that incorporates a wide variety of greens.  The greens symbolize different things to different families.  Most often the number of greens a person uses represents the number of new friends he or she is supposed to make that year.

I decided to go for a seafood gumbo and throw as many veggies as I could find (I want to make a lot of new friends this year!)

 I also wanted to make the seafood stock myself but when I went to the supermarket and couldn't find any shrimp or fish heads, I decided to get the cheapest fish and use that to make the stock. So catfish bits were my make shift shrimp. Now for all those people who know me well, I hate hate HATE celery so none of my recipes will ever have that in them, so I will list the ingredient list and recipe as if the celery was in there for all of you celery lovers, but note I ommit this in all my recipes..

Shrimp Stock


Ingredients
¼ cup (120 ml) canola oil
Shells and heads (about 1 ½ pounds (700 gm)) from 4 pounds (2 kg) shrimp (prawns) ( I used catfish chunks instead)
1 tablespoon Basic Creole Spices (recipe below)
1 large onion coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped ( I ommited)
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
6 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (5 gm) black peppercorns
2 cups (480 ml) dry white wine (optional)
3 ½ quarts (3⅓ liters) water
Directions:
1. Heat the canola oil in a large stockpot over moderate heat. When the oil begins to smoke slightly, add the shells and paprika. Stir continuously, for 2 minutes, until the shells crisp up and turn pink.

2. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.


3. Add the white wine (skip this step if not using wine) and bring to a boil. Allow the wine to reduce for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add the water and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, skimming off any foam or oil that rises to the surface, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

(This is my version with fish instead of shrimp)

5. Strain through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Discard all the solids. Allow the stock to cool, cover and refrigerate, then skim off the fat. Use immediately, or freeze for later use.

Seafood Gumbo

Minimally adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Servings: 10

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) canola oil
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
2 large onions, diced
6 jumbo blue crabs, each cut into four pieces (if unavailable, omit, or substitute another type of crab)
1 pound (½ kilogram) spicy smoked sausage links, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick (optional, but encouraged if you eat sausage)
1 stalk celery, diced ( I ommited)
1 green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (240 ml) (160 gm) (5½ oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available). If fresh or frozen is unavailable, you can leave it out because the roux will provide enough of a thickener.
Leaves from sprig of fresh thyme
3 quarts (3 liters) shrimp (prawn) stock (recipe below)
2 bay leaves
1 pound (½ kilogram) peeled and deveined medium Louisiana or wild shrimp (prawn) (Note: If you are buying whole, head-on shrimp, which you will need in order to use the heads and peels for stock, you will then need approximately 4 pounds (2 kilograms) of shrimp to yield enough heads/shells for the stock. Although the recipe only calls for 1 pound (½ kilogram) of shrimp, you will end up with a little over 2 pounds of cleaned shrimp (1 kilogram), which I found was perfect for this size pot of gumbo)
1 pint (475 ml) (450 gm) (16 oz) shucked oysters
8 ounces (225 gm) lump crabmeat
1 cup (240 ml) (100 gm) (3½ oz) minced green onions (scallions, or spring onions)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Basic Creole Spices, to taste (recipe below)
Worcestershire, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
4-6 cups (1 – 1½ liters) (650 gm – 950 gm) cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)
Directions:
1. Prepare shrimp stock, if using (recipe above).
2. Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

4. In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.

5. Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.

6. Add the blue crabs and smoked sausage and stir for a minute before adding the celery, bell peppers, garlic, and okra. Increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.

7. Add the thyme, shellfish stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.

9. Add the shrimp, oysters, crabmeat and green onions to the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Make sure everything is ready to serve before adding the shellfish to the gumbo. DO NOT OVERCOOK your shellfish.

10. Season with salt and pepper, Creole Spices, Worcestershire, and Tabasco.
11. Serve in bowls over rice. I placed mine in see through containers to give it a more elegant look, and garnished with some fresh parsley.