Saturday, April 4, 2009

Easter cupcakes from Culinary Institute of America will upstage the chocolate bunny

By Heather Mcpherson


Chef Stéphane Weber of The Culinary Institute of America has some great suggestions on how you and your family can create beautifully decorated cupcakes easily using a pastry bag and various piping tips that you can find at most kitchen and craft stores.

Make these treats a fun and creative family project. Ask your kids to help decorate the iced cupcake tops using the abundance of pastel colored candies available during the Spring season.

For a brief step-by-step video on how to pipe and decorate your cupcakes visit www.ciachef.edu/Cupcakes. Chef Weber used the following tips: small round, large round, grass decorating, and large ribbon or basket tip (railroad tip).


Lemon Chiffon Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar, divided
4 large egg yolks
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
4 large egg whites


1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Place paper cupcake inserts inside cupcake pan.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and half the sugar together into a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl and reserve.

3. In another large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine the egg yolks, oil, water, vanilla, and zest. Mix with a handheld mixer or whip attachment until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk mixture gradually to the dry ingredients, mixing with a handheld mixer or whip attachment on medium speed until a paste forms. When a paste has formed, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and continue adding the remainder of the yolk mixture until it is all incorporated. Beat for an additional 2 minutes on medium speed.

4. In a separate mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, whip the egg whites with a clean whip attachment on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar while beating the egg whites and continue to beat until medium peaks form.

5. Gently blend 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups.

6. Bake at 375F until the top of a cake springs back to the touch, about 20 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling. The cakes are ready to frost now, or they can be wrapped and stored at room temperature for 2 days, or frozen for up to 3 weeks.

Italian Buttercream

Makes about 7 cups

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
8 large egg whites
4 cups unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the sugar with the water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue cooking without stirring to the soft ball stage (240F).

2. Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment.

When the sugar syrup has reached approximately 230F, whip the egg whites on medium speed to soft peak consistency. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until the egg whites hold to medium peaks.

3. When the sugar syrup reaches 240F, immediately pour it into a heatproof glass measuring cup with a pouring spout. This will allow better control of the flow of the hot syrup into the egg whites. You can also stream the hot syrup into the egg whites directly from the pot, if desired. Pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running on medium speed. As soon as all of the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and continue to whip until the meringue has cooled to room temperature.

4. Add the cubed butter gradually, mixing after each addition until fully incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the vanilla. The buttercream is ready for use or may be tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.


From: The Dish, A Food Blog by Heather Mcpherson at http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Recession stirs up at-home cooking in weak economy

By BETSY VERECKEY

Americans have some catching up to do in the kitchen.

Take Eric Bonetti. The public relations worker from Fairfax, Va., spent the past few years working up to a four-night-a-week dining out habit. Now, like many Americans, he's trying to save money on food. The problem is, he lost touch with his inner chef.

So, he recently bartered his way into private cooking lessons, and now he's making sumptuous meals of turkey pot pie and chocolate souffle for half the cost.

"With the changing economy, it just seemed smarter to make dinner myself," says Bonetti, who traded writing and editing services for one series of classes and paid $80 for another.

Across the country, the recession is giving extra sizzle to cooking at home. But this isn't Mom's meatloaf or macaroni and cheese. People who grew accustomed to dining out every night still want to eat in style. Besides cooking lessons, they are poring over food magazines, snatching up cookbooks and replacing their dingy pots and pans in hopes of creating gourmet meals on the cheap.

Interest in cooking had already been growing, thanks in part to the appeal of reality cooking programs and the proliferation of celebrity chefs. An average of 2.9 million people watched the fifth season of Bravo's "Top Chef," up from 1.1 million when the show debuted in 2006, according to Nielsen Ratings.

Several major grocery stores say they've seen sales increase because people like Bonetti are cooking more and eating out less. And enrollment has spiked at New York's Institute of Culinary Education, which offers some 1,700 courses a year. Revenue is up 15 percent from a year ago.

The courses can cost hundreds of dollars — seemingly a tough sell at a time when so many people are scrutinizing nonessential expenses. But the school's president, Rick Smilow, says the investment pays off in the long run.

"Some of the classes are the same price as going to a nice restaurant. Plus, they have take-home value," he says.

Bonetti resorted to private tutoring because all the classes in his area were sold out, and he wanted to learn how to make Indian and French food. Other schools offer classes on how to make tapas, paella, pizza and lobster as well as cake decoration skills.

He's hardly alone in cutting back on eating out. Restaurant visits by parties including kids fell 3 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to market researcher NPD Group. Visits by those 18 to 24 — the most lucrative restaurant market — dropped by 8 percent.

Elementary school teacher Anna Eller took free cooking classes at a Williams-Sonoma store in Tulsa, Okla., after cutting back from eating out several times a week to about once a month.

Eller, who's trying to save money to go back to school and buy a house, also watches the Food Network when she's on the treadmill. Her father bought her a crockpot after she complained how expensive it was to buy dinner every night.

"I got a cookbook on crockpot recipes," she says. "It's great. It cooks my food all day while I'm working. It smells good when I get home, and I'm not grumpy anymore."

There's much greater interest in cookbooks, too, particularly those about slow cookers, value meals, canning and preserving, says Mary Davis, a spokeswoman for book retailer Borders Group Inc. The number of cookbooks sold in the past year rose 9 percent, according to Nielsen BookScan.

Money saved by eating in has given some the means and justification to invest in kitchen tools.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, says sales of housewares, including cooking and dining items and small appliances, were strong in February.

High-end kitchen retailer Sur La Table says sales at its established stores have risen 4.9 percent this year. The company recently sent an e-mail advertising a set of three Chicago Metallic pans priced at $24.99, down from the usual $55, and sold almost 600 sets in one day, spokeswoman Susanna Linse says.

Food Web sites — which offer tens of thousands of recipes, most of them free — also are seeing more traffic.

At Conde Nast's culinary site, Epicurious.com, traffic in January was up 10 percent over a year ago to 4.4 million from 4 million visitors a year earlier.

Editor-in-chief Tanya Wenman Steel says Epicurious' efforts to draw readers with weekly menu planners and recipes to feed families for less have paid off.

"Whenever we wrote a post about cooking for your family for less, we got a large number of comments," she says.

Cooking magazines generally are doing well even as softer advertising revenue has inflicted pain elsewhere in publishing.

Saveur, a food, wine and travel magazine published by Bonnier Corp., saw subscription sales rise 11 percent in March from the same month a year ago. Food Network Magazine, which launched late last year, hopes to boost circulation to 600,000 by October, up from the 300,000 of its first issue.

"Bon Appetit" executive editor Victoria von Biel says circulation is at an all-time high of 1.4 million. The magazine's January issue offered ideas on how to eat better for less, including how to host an inexpensive dinner party and how to cook a week's worth of dinners for under $100.

"Times are tough. Even our affluent readers are going home and nesting a little bit at the moment," she says.

Samir A. Husni, a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi whose focus is consumer magazines, estimates that there are between 70 and 90 new titles that appear every year, from magazines devoted entirely to cheese and others just about chicken.

"There's a big hunger out there, no pun intended, for do-it-yourself cooking," Husni says. "If you can't go to the restaurant, what better way is there to bring it to your home?"

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Associated Press
Recession stirs up at-home cooking in weak economy

By BETSY VERECKEY – 9 hours ago

Americans have some catching up to do in the kitchen.

Take Eric Bonetti. The public relations worker from Fairfax, Va., spent the past few years working up to a four-night-a-week dining out habit. Now, like many Americans, he's trying to save money on food. The problem is, he lost touch with his inner chef.

So, he recently bartered his way into private cooking lessons, and now he's making sumptuous meals of turkey pot pie and chocolate souffle for half the cost.

"With the changing economy, it just seemed smarter to make dinner myself," says Bonetti, who traded writing and editing services for one series of classes and paid $80 for another.

Across the country, the recession is giving extra sizzle to cooking at home. But this isn't Mom's meatloaf or macaroni and cheese. People who grew accustomed to dining out every night still want to eat in style. Besides cooking lessons, they are poring over food magazines, snatching up cookbooks and replacing their dingy pots and pans in hopes of creating gourmet meals on the cheap.

Interest in cooking had already been growing, thanks in part to the appeal of reality cooking programs and the proliferation of celebrity chefs. An average of 2.9 million people watched the fifth season of Bravo's "Top Chef," up from 1.1 million when the show debuted in 2006, according to Nielsen Ratings.

Several major grocery stores say they've seen sales increase because people like Bonetti are cooking more and eating out less. And enrollment has spiked at New York's Institute of Culinary Education, which offers some 1,700 courses a year. Revenue is up 15 percent from a year ago.

The courses can cost hundreds of dollars — seemingly a tough sell at a time when so many people are scrutinizing nonessential expenses. But the school's president, Rick Smilow, says the investment pays off in the long run.

"Some of the classes are the same price as going to a nice restaurant. Plus, they have take-home value," he says.

Bonetti resorted to private tutoring because all the classes in his area were sold out, and he wanted to learn how to make Indian and French food. Other schools offer classes on how to make tapas, paella, pizza and lobster as well as cake decoration skills.

He's hardly alone in cutting back on eating out. Restaurant visits by parties including kids fell 3 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to market researcher NPD Group. Visits by those 18 to 24 — the most lucrative restaurant market — dropped by 8 percent.

Elementary school teacher Anna Eller took free cooking classes at a Williams-Sonoma store in Tulsa, Okla., after cutting back from eating out several times a week to about once a month.

Eller, who's trying to save money to go back to school and buy a house, also watches the Food Network when she's on the treadmill. Her father bought her a crockpot after she complained how expensive it was to buy dinner every night.

"I got a cookbook on crockpot recipes," she says. "It's great. It cooks my food all day while I'm working. It smells good when I get home, and I'm not grumpy anymore."

There's much greater interest in cookbooks, too, particularly those about slow cookers, value meals, canning and preserving, says Mary Davis, a spokeswoman for book retailer Borders Group Inc. The number of cookbooks sold in the past year rose 9 percent, according to Nielsen BookScan.

Money saved by eating in has given some the means and justification to invest in kitchen tools.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, says sales of housewares, including cooking and dining items and small appliances, were strong in February.

High-end kitchen retailer Sur La Table says sales at its established stores have risen 4.9 percent this year. The company recently sent an e-mail advertising a set of three Chicago Metallic pans priced at $24.99, down from the usual $55, and sold almost 600 sets in one day, spokeswoman Susanna Linse says.

Food Web sites — which offer tens of thousands of recipes, most of them free — also are seeing more traffic.

At Conde Nast's culinary site, Epicurious.com, traffic in January was up 10 percent over a year ago to 4.4 million from 4 million visitors a year earlier.

Editor-in-chief Tanya Wenman Steel says Epicurious' efforts to draw readers with weekly menu planners and recipes to feed families for less have paid off.

"Whenever we wrote a post about cooking for your family for less, we got a large number of comments," she says.

Cooking magazines generally are doing well even as softer advertising revenue has inflicted pain elsewhere in publishing.

Saveur, a food, wine and travel magazine published by Bonnier Corp., saw subscription sales rise 11 percent in March from the same month a year ago. Food Network Magazine, which launched late last year, hopes to boost circulation to 600,000 by October, up from the 300,000 of its first issue.

"Bon Appetit" executive editor Victoria von Biel says circulation is at an all-time high of 1.4 million. The magazine's January issue offered ideas on how to eat better for less, including how to host an inexpensive dinner party and how to cook a week's worth of dinners for under $100.

"Times are tough. Even our affluent readers are going home and nesting a little bit at the moment," she says.

Samir A. Husni, a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi whose focus is consumer magazines, estimates that there are between 70 and 90 new titles that appear every year, from magazines devoted entirely to cheese and others just about chicken.

"There's a big hunger out there, no pun intended, for do-it-yourself cooking," Husni says. "If you can't go to the restaurant, what better way is there to bring it to your home?"

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

'Hell's Kitchen' Insider: Good Riddance to the Anti-Cooks


If you watch Hell's Kitchen, you already know that Christina Machamer overcame exceptional odds to win of the fourth season of the notorious show, becoming the executive sous chef at at the London West Hollywood Hotel. Check in each week as Christina "dishes up" her insights on Hell's Kitchen's fifth season, her notorious new boss, and life after reality TV stardom.

By Christina Machamer

There are two questions that I am always asked about my experience in Hell’s Kitchen. The first is “What is Chef Ramsay really like?” This is easy to answer. No one is really that atrocious in real life. If they were they could not run a successful restaurant, have a family AND gain the respect of others in their field. Gordon, as he prefers to be called, is a real person. Sure he gets upset, and sometimes screams, “What is that? What is that? Is that the best you can do?” However, most of Ramsay’s critiques come with good reason. The second question is, “Where do they find these people?”In light of our most recent elimination(s), I find this to be our most appropriate topic. Of course I say, “Ding Dong, the lazy b**** is gone!” But we all know the affinity I have for she who shall no longer be named within this blog. Though she made for great viewing, she was, quite possibly, the worst contestant on any reality TV show, ever. Does anyone else suck more at life then our fallen chef-testant? So here is the answer to that “meaning of life” question: where do they find these people?

The truth, unfortunately, is that they are all around you. They are in every kitchen that I have ever worked in, and the idiot quotient in culinary schools is high. Recently, I have happened to work with one of those people. For the sake of his future in this industry, we’ll call him Fanning. Fanning has two personalities. One is a real person; the other is an absurd malformation that comes from growing up in a strict European kitchen. (Think yelling and throwing saucepans with no labor laws or recompense). Fanning may have grown up to be a normal cook; however, he was forged into the Michelin-starred ways and (pardon the reference) has embraced the “dark side.” Fanning has never worked in a “real” restaurant. By this I mean those establishments that feed most of us most of the time. He has always worked in that place you save up for a month to eat in because it is a birthday, or an anniversary, or you bought a new home. The kind of restaurant that has so much ado on the street, but once you get there, they have lost your reservation, the food is just “okay,” and you leave wondering what all of the hype is about, to stop by a drive-thru on the way home. Sure, to his credit, Fanning has a few skills, but when it comes to the ranch dressing, cocktail sauce, or over-easy eggs this country was built on, he is clueless. Fanning doesn’t realize just how ignorant he is. He has always worked in that restaurant you wish you could go to, and because of that he has become the anti-cook.

The anti-cook is the opposite of she who shall not be noted in this blog. The anti-cook is someone who has worked in the same restaurant, or chain of restaurants, for over five years. They are what we in the industry refer to as “old dogs.” Old dogs of course have problems with any new tricks, techniques or ideals. They are those colleagues who have to cut others down in order to supplement their productivity. He, anti-cook, if left on the street to fend for himself, would whither and crawl back into the same repertoire of recipes he has been perfecting over and over.

Fanning seems to have much in common with our dwindling few would-be executive chefs. He is young, and very naïve, like Danny. Also like Danny, he has a few rational skills. Nonetheless, the hardest lessons to learn are the lessons of life. None of which can be taught. The anti-chef has an over-inflated sense of ego based upon time and title, much like Ben. His temper is short, and his words are harsh, but in this day and age, when there are so many aspiring chefs and so many choices, is there any room for this lack of empathy or modesty? As with LA, the anti-chef is easily deflated. Any protocol outside the norm causes both confusion and defeat.

Worst of all traits, Fanning could never support the weight of the team on himself. When prep times get tough, Fanning says, “Flick off, get it done,” and returns to the importance of running his mouth while completing his menial task. The problem with someone like Fanning is that he cannot conceptualize the results of his actions. If he were to “dig in” and “push out” as someone who is senior in the company should be able to do, he would become a solid asset. Instead, he lets his ego fall into place, and takes away from the enjoyment of the guests who are the jugular of any restaurant. To this end, I wonder how Carol and Andrea could perpetuate their feud with any hopes of success in this game. Forgetting those who, in essence, pay our salaries, is an egregious mistake, one that no amount of consuming raw pasta can make up for.

So when asked if these people are actors, I have to sadly say no. Though it adds to my job stability, the contestants we endure are all around us, and in every restaurant. Even Gordon’s own West Hollywood outpost has its share of “What is thats?” once in awhile. So for all the Fanning out there: “Piss off.”

Until next week, as our leaders emerge (Paula for Cory and Robert for me) and our anti-cooks get their good riddance, eat well and be well.


After graduating at the top of her class from The Culinary Institute of America and putting in decades of work in some of the country's top kitchens, Christina Machamer's hard work has been rewarded with a Hell's Kitchen triumph. Now settled into her new West Hollywood digs, she and her partner Cory Lemieux venture into the artisan spice trade with their online company bcbcblends.com. Look for Christina, as she travels the country, seeking out food shows, farmer's markets, and a possible location for her next culinary adventure.

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