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Mar 23

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Sour cream chocolate bundt with fudge glaze (turns out I do like chocolate cake)

Remember when I decided that I didn’t really like chocolate cake? I tried recipe after recipe for traditional chocolate layer cakes, only to decide that I wasn’t finding what I wanted because I didn’t really like traditional chocolate layer cakes very much to begin with.

This was all a little ridiculous, because no one doesn’t like chocolate cake. It may not be on the top of one’s cake list (which I just made up and now want to make and laminate and put in my wallet), but seriously – no one honestly dislikes chocolate cake. I was fixated on finding that perfect recipe, and when I didn’t find it I basically said “I wasn’t playing anyway,” and all was well.

Until this looker came along.

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Mar 19

Weekend links, March 19

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The view from Ryan Mountain, Joshua Tree

Between vacation last week, preparations for final exams in my culinary class, and what appears to be kind of a slow internet week, food-wise, I don’t have much to share today. But this New York Times exploration of the life of cookbook ghostwriters was super interesting. (What, you didn’t know those celebrity chefs don’t actually write those things?)  And I spent some time on this site this morning, supplying myself for an exciting new kitchen project.

Finally, if you’re looking for some inspiration to make a change in your life (and particularly in your work), there are some pretty good options here.

Have a great week!

Mar 16

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Workshop recap: Foodcrafting 101 (more goat’s milk, please)

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time lately attending workshops and classes across the LA area, and despite the driving time I’ve been more than happy to spend my time meeting new colleagues and learning new skills. I spent this past Saturday with my hands deep in yeast, strawberries, mustard seeds, and fresh goat’s milk at the Institute of Domestic Technology‘s Foodcrafting 101 workshop, and it was certainly the best yet.

The workshop was hosted by the beautiful Zane Grey Estate in Altadena, a private residence that also functions as an urban micro-dairy and goat farm. Among those beautiful goats (seriously, they were beautiful) our group enjoyed farmstead meals, more goat milk than we could drink (so incredibly delicious, and very different than the store-bought stuff, which I’ve honestly never liked much), and five hours of in-depth instruction from the Institute’s talented instructors. An hour making bread, another hour jamming and canning, some great time mingling with goats and learning about the operation of the dairy, then two more hours making homemade mustard and fresh chevre (those last two after a delicious farm-style lunch, capped off with a warm chocolate chip cookie and fresh raw goat’s milk).

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Schedule

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Mar 14

Citrus-coconut tartlets with cream cheese pastry

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Just a quick post of a recipe that’s unfortunately not entirely quick – but totally worth it.

I’ve made this one twice in the last week, first testing it for a little catering job I did last week and then tweaking it and sending it out to rave reviews. I’m glad I did the test, since the recipe definitely needed some re-working, and the end result was fantastic. These were the first thing to go at the event, and I had trouble keeping myself from eating four or five at a time from the test batch.  Super flaky cream cheese pastry, tart and sweet lemon-lime-coconut filling, and a crispy little layer of vanilla glaze on top. Topped with two strips of candied lime zest, if you want to get fancy. Read more

Mar 12

Weekend links, March 12

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Making chevre, Foodcrafting 101 workshop on Saturday. (More on that later.)

Just in time for … well, anything, The Kitchn published two posts on forgotten gin cocktails. Part 1 (lemon-based) and Part 2 (lime-based).

A clever, artsy project re-imagining how we store food based on how it actually should be stored.

Food that looks good tastes better. A few tips on plating like a pro.

What does a kitchen look like when it has 33 ovens, 3,000 cookbooks, and an annual grocery bill of a cool half million? A tour of the America’s Test Kitchen kitchens.

A peek into the life of a recipe developer. Looks kind of like my life, some days. (Let’s talk about those ginger-molasses cookies …)

A bit about the science of taste and the importance of using all our senses in eating. (Did you know that part of why airplane food tastes so bad is because there’s so much constant noise around while you’re eating it?) This is an NPR transcript and a little obnoxious to read in that form, but still super interesting.

And one last thing – just updated the post on my favorite spätzle recipe, which you should make post haste.

Have a great week, everyone!

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