Category: Events

Bear With Me My Friends…Working on My Pie Competition

I haven’t posted since last week. Work and personal life is crazy right now. By the time I usually get ready to blog I’m to tired. Not to mention keeping up with all of you. This week I have a Grand Opening at work, will be casually entertaining a fellow blogger on Sunday, working on some house stuff, seeing Certain Someone off to yet another business trip, and submitting two apple pies to the Buck Town Apple Pie Contest next Sunday. I’ve spent this morning on a practice pie. Cant tell you my secrets yet, but its looking good. I’m incorporating some unusual spices and techniques.Its amazing what I have learned in year from all of you and the Daring Bakers. So wish me luck folks, and I will try to visit you this week if time permits.

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Black Pudding, Pig Roasts, and Keeping My Hat On All Day.


I left off the last the post with my visit to Borough Market. If only I could have stayed longer but I had to meet my aunt and take the train to a old market village called Thame. The couple who were getting married generously put us up in the Spread Eagle Inn. No snickers at the name,it cracked me up too. But this Inn is very historic and has seen many a prominent visitor from Charles II to Evelyn Waugh. The groom to be’s handsome son and friend Toby picked us up from the train station. They offered to show us some neighboring sites. Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill), Oxford, and Waddesdon Manor (home of the Rothschild’s) were close by. Tempting as all that was , we wanted to freshen up after being up all day and exploring London. The boys warned us that unfortunately the yearly town fair was going on at that very moment on the High Street in front of the hotel. The roads were blocked off, and we entered from the back. The boys were called off to pick up some more people and take care of wedding stuff,so we were left to explore the village and maybe meet up later. I was thinking a quaint crafty fair like Chicago. What greeted us was a full blown carnival with warnings of the teenage hooligans who get rowdy. It was hard to see the shops and beauty of the town with all the carny nonsense. The Inn locked off the front doors to prevent entry from the crowds. It was too late to shop, so we went back to the Inn for dinner. No one was in the restaurant but we had a decent dinner from the new menu. I had a rustic pate with red onion marmalade, crispy prawns with crispy noodles . Auntie Mame had salmon and sorrel. You don’t come across sorrel often. We retired early to faint sounds of the fair and never made it for drinks.

The morning of the wedding we went down to the restaurant again. I ordered the full English breakfast of eggs, black pudding, grilled tomato, sausage, and beans! I liked blood sausage, so I felt I could do the black pudding. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste as tasty as blood sausage. It was a lot of food and I was praying the beans wouldn’t kick in at the wedding. We shared a taxi over to Nether Winchendon House, a medieval Tudor mansion the wedding was held at. The family it belongs to is related to the Spencer- Churchill family and still live there. However they rent it out for filming, corporate events, and weddings. The wedding was lovely and unstuffy. All the ladies wore hats, but we were asked to be creative with them and use existing hats and embellish. The couple took their vows under a mulberry tree with their ‘Vicar’ friend. This ceremony was symbolic as their real / legal wedding would be in Chicago. The couple had an enormous sense of humour and deep love for each other, their family, and friends. Endless champagne, wine, beer, etc as we walked the estate and took pictures. The wedding lunch was held in a hall on the grounds. Besides the catered lunch, they had a pig roast outside! In fact there had 2 pig roasts. One for the lunch, and one for the evening buffet. So much good food. At this point I didn’t care about being fancy and gobbled up the roast pig and cracklings. The best! We broke up the eating with outdoor activities . The couple hired acrobats who brought all sorts of equipment for the guests, I hula hooped, walked a tight rope with the guidance from the ground,walked on stilts, etc all in my big hat! My aunt has these hysterical photos so I haven’t got them yet. By 11:30 we were exhausted.I even got picked up by two 25 year olds. One actually proposed marriage and kept calling me Dorthy. They found it hard to believe I was almost 15 years older than them.Flattery! Back to the Inn, and we flew home the next day. I have to say that was the most joyous , humorous, real wedding I had ever been to. If my day ever comes I plan take a page from them.

I leave you with this recipe I adapted from BBC’s Olive Magazine. Over the next few weeks you see me use ideas or items I got from over there: The original recipe from Chef Valentine Warner was a baked Mushroom and Celeriac Tarte. I wanted to incorporate some slow cooked beef shank I had with leeks and mushrooms. The inspiration was using a thinly sliced celery root as my crust. It didn’t come out as caramelized and perfect as the magazine( to much liquids which I drained), but it was very good. Even Certain Someone who doesn’t like celery or the root liked this.

Glamah’s Celeriac Tarte with Beef , Leeks, and Mushrooms
2 beef shanks
1 large leek cleaned and sliced
1 small celery root
1 cup of mushrooms coarsley chopped
salt/ pepper to taste( I used a seasoned sea salt spiced with cumin and mint)
1/2 cup of Cooking Wine
3 cloves of Garlic
butter
Slow cook the beef shanks with with wine, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Clean mushrooms and leeks. Add to beef. At this point you can remove the meat from the bone and chop up to cook with the vegetables.Cover and let roast on oven another 20-30 minutes.

Wash and peel celery root. Cut into manageable quarters. Take a mandolin and slice thinly.
Take a cast iron pan and melt butter to coat it on the stove. Arrange the celery root slices to cover. Add the meat and vegetables.Be sure to drain excess liquids . Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Take out and invert pan onto a plate( like making a tarte tatin). Slice and serve.

I am submitting this to Go Ahead Honey Its Gluten Free.The wonderful and English Naomi is hosting and shes picked Slow Food as this months theme.

Fusion Dinner and Cookie Contest Update

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Thanks for all your encouragement. I didn’t win but had a marvelous experience. The French Pastry School is a class act. They gave each contestant a t shirt, apron, a French Pastry experience gift certificate worth $75( watching their Master chefs give demos and instruction), hand crafted Chocolates, a wonderful demo on site with Chef Instructor Laura Ragano. She showed us how to make Madelines and Finaciers. We each got an instruction booklet with valuable recipes , tips, and photos. They even fed us lunch and there was not registration fee. I’m so tempted to enter the pie competition but I t falls on a day when I have 2 other things going on. Plus the expense in producing 4 final pies and the experimentation up to is just to much for me right now. I have a London trip coming up in a few weeks. Totally unexpected , but I am excited! I consciously chose not to make a sugar cookie with royal icing as decoration because that can mask a really good cookie. Only one other contestant used chocolate. I knew they wanted more than a ‘fashion cookie’. The winner was a student at their school ( UNFAIR!) who managed to make a decorative yet tasty cookie. They were pistachio leaf shaped cookies( 1st picture second row) that screamed autumn. 3rd place was the lady next to me with these delicate almost fried like lemony sugar cookies. They were rich , but I thought she would be ruled out because hers looked under the required 1.5 inches. 2nd place was this cherry filled sugar cookie. I was shocked at the props used in competition and had to run and get a serving plate at World Market. Next time I know better. The judges were another treat! We had some Chicago top pastry chefs including Michelle Garcia of Bleeding Heart Bakery who you always see on those Food Network competitions.

Anyway…Its Sunday and you know how much a nice Sundaydinner means to me and Certain Someone.This dinner had a lot of fusion going on . And it was all expermital and improvised, so no comments on it not being traditional, etc.. I know its not. Certain Someone requested Red curry in his chicken. I haven’t made a Thai Red curry before and totally improvised the Glamah way. I have this cast iron wok shaped pan I love to use from oven to stove top. I rubbed 3 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste all over the 3 large chicken breasts with skin and bone. I let them sit and marinate with some chopped garlic. I then added some water, sealed in foil, and slow cooked in the oven for an hour to make the chicken nice and tender. I hate tough fast cooked flavorless white meat. I then chopped some small Thai eggplants, and a whole onion to add, and bake some more.

A nice broth was brewing. I took the wok pan onto the gas range and let it simmer some more. I thought it was to much liquid at first, but added a can of coconut milk nevertheless. Certain someone micro managing me complained I left the bones in . I took the breasts and removed the skin and bone. Then he fussed because he wanted the skin I threw away. I told him who wants non crispy skin!Anyway we were left with nice huge chunks of tender white meat. The bones and skin had made the broth more flavorful, sop they served their purpose. I finished it with lots of Basil Leaves.

I also served some Wehani brown rice.This rice took 50 minutes to cook and yielded a great aroma. A new favorite. I decided to try using my chick pea flour to make chickpea pancakes. Indian style. Basically it was 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup chick pea flour, chopped chilies, onions, coriander seeds( my twist), salt, water, etc. Mix, knead, let rest for 1 hour, and fry up. Certain Someone thought they were dry, but we sopped them up with all that coconut red curry sauce. What a fusion Thai elements with Indian elements. Its Glamahs kitchen so she can do what she wants. We enjoyed it and found it very filling. All the bulk in that rice. Thankfully it wasn’t to spicy, which was my fear. I love spice, but sometimes you just want it easy.

Finding My A Game… Wish Me Luck In An Amateur Sugar Cookie Competition

A month ago , feeling ambitious, I registered to compete in the The French Pastry School Sugar Cookie Competition. The event is today. The French Pastry School is a part of the City Colleges here in Chicago and is excellent. They attract such such world re known chefs like Pierre Herme for hard to get in workshops and master classes. The prices of classes are to rich for my blood, but would be a once in lifetime opportunity. And If I had the luxury to enroll , I would! Anyway the first 30 registrants will compete today at Whole Foods On Canal. The requirements are that we must use, but are not limited to Neilsen Massey Vanilla, Plugra Butter, King Arthur Flour, and Callebaut Chocolate. Each participant will win a Free French Patry Experience and Certificate of Participation. Third Prize is a Kitchen Aid Mixer, Second is a Kitchen Aid and Thermohauser French Pastry School Professional Tool Kit, and First is what I really want, a Kitchen Aid,French Pastry Enthusiast Course, French Pastry School Chef Jacket, and Thermohause French Pastry School Professional Kit.
I practiced early on getting my recipe together. I knew I wanted the element of hazelnut. The first cookies were bulky monsters of a hazelnut dough topped with caramel, then covered in chocolate. They were way to rich and bulky. Not bad, but not what I wanted. I got sidetracked, and got back to work. Last week made a swirl dough inspired by a cookie recipe I saw over at Linda’s.I still wanted the hazelnut element. The cookies again were to big, flat, and I had a kitchen disaster when they fell uncooked all over my over. The ones I could bake I swirled chocolate to follow the marble pattern. Again not my best work. But I knew the dough was getting there. So this week I procrastinated. Last night I assembled my 2 doughs. The light dough was harder and dryer, and the dark was mushier. I had been chilling them 2 hours! I had changed the sugar type a bit, so I wondered if this played into it. Anyway it wasn’t going to plan. Instead of swirls I got marble. Frustrated but encouraged by Certain Someone, I just went with it. I didn’t fight the dough. My mother used to have a saying. ‘Let Go And Let God’. I followed her advice. So I woke at 6 am and got to work. I used a 2 inch flower cutter and sliced the dough and started shaping and forming. I got over 70 cookies. The competition requires 50 to judge and 10 for show. No oven misshapes and 2 hours later I am typing this.

Hazelnut Sugar Swirls by “Glamah”

A 3-sugar cookie divided into two dough’s to create a swirl effect. Chocolate is used as decoration to outline the swirl.

Hazelnut Dough
½ lb Plugras Butter room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup cane sugar
1 tsp Nielson Massey Vanilla
1/4 tsb cardamom
1 tsp orange zest or orange icing sugar (an orange flavoring gel used in cakes and icings).
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup Hazelnut Flour
2 cups King Arthur Organic All Purpose Flour
¼ tsp sea salt
Brown food coloring optional

Light Dough
1 ¼ cup confectioners sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup Plugras butter room temperature
2 ½ cup King Arthur Organic All Purpose Flour
1 egg white + 1 tbsp water

Chocolate Swirl
Callebaut Chocolate

Preparation of Hazelnut dough:
In a bowl or stand mixer cream your eggs, brown sugar, cane sugar, cardamom. orange zest, Vanilla, and butter until incorporated. Do not over blend as to get to much air into the mixture. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet as the mixer turns. Once all ingredients are combined stop mixing. At this point, you may add brown food coloring to deepen the color. Shape into a log (close to diameter of cookie shape) on wax paper, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Preparation of Light Dough:
Mix confectioners sugar, butter, and egg yolk in your mixer bowl until combined. Gradually add in flour and knead until dough is firm and incorporated. Chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
Assembly:
Roll out both dough’s on sheets of wax paper. Brush hazelnut dough with egg white mixture. Top with rolled out Light dough. From the long end, roll both dough’s together to form a long slim log. If the log is to thick use both hands to extend it and shape into desired width. Cut log into three parts. Slice lenght wise and lay over each other in opposite directions to mold into another log. The purpose of this is to mix up the doughs tho create the marbeled effect. Just be sure there is a contrast between both doughs. Shape the dough into a log again, wrap, and chill until firm for an at least one hour or over night… When dough is sliced and shaped, it should have a marbled effect.

Bake:
Preheat oven to 350. Place slices of cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool on rack.

Chocolate Swirl:
Melt Callebaut Chocolate in a double boiler. Once cooled down, pour into a piping bag. Cut off a tiny tip pf the bag and swirl the chocolate over the marbled edges of the cookies.
If chocolate decoration does not solidify immediately, place cookie in the refrigerator for a few minutes to harden.

MARX FOODS IS HAVING ANOTHER CONTEST!
MarxFoods.com is calling all Chanterelle Mushroom Recipes!

To Enter: Submit your best original chanterelle recipe to MarxFoods.com
Prize: 2 Pounds of fresh chanterelle mushrooms
Contest Dates: September 2nd – Friday, September 19th

You can check out all the recipes that have been entered at our blog.

A Question, A Visual Meme,and A Contest You May Like.

I hope all of you are enjoying your weekend so far. I’m resting a lot. Just tired and stressed. Last night we went to an old friends wedding on the Fourth of July. It was a fitting theme for all they had been through over the past decade. Good Luck you two. It was Certain Someones first American wedding and we traded notes on the differences and what we would have, if that day came.
Anyway I woke late and checked on my hot mail account for this blog. It seems I may have crossed some lines with a fellow blogger. I know there is lot of discussion and debate about protected material and such. We all work hard on our blogs for simple enjoyment. Well anyway I have a new feature that has been up for a month or so on the side bar. Rather than a traditional link list, it shows the most recent 25 posts from my reader. I have received a few comments about this being fascinating, and have noticed it on some other blogs as well. This fellow blogger who I love to read would rather not have me show their content in the snippet or link to their blog . Its OK If I’m referring to a post of theirs, or an event, but not in this form.I never intended to use someone else’s content(It is not like I am passing off their content as mine or profiting in anyway). The feature from Blogger just shows whats in my personal reader with snippets and you can choose to go to that persons blog and read on. I think its way more interesting than a link.Something may catch your eye that you haven’t noticed before. Anyway all this to say if I have offended anyone else I am sorry. Do you think I should take this off and would you too rather not have your link in it? If that’s the case I will remove the feature. This is a whole new world to me and I don’t want to offend anyone .
Marx Foods is having another contest! I need to get going on this as the deadline is July 18. Its for your best burger recipe.
Enter your best Burger Recipe for a chance to WIN 10 POUNDS OF YOUR PICK OF BURGERS & Palm Leaf Plates to serve your burgers on in the MarxFoods.com “Build the Best Burger” Recipe Contest
Burger choices include Kobe beef, Grass-fed beef, Ostrich, Bison & more
Recipe Deadline: Friday, July 18
Summer is officially upon us which means a lot of delicious burger consumption. We want to collect a massive compilation of inspirational, new and exciting burger recipes that will last us through the summer!
Enter your best burger recipe by July 18 at MarxFoods.com. The prize? Ten pounds of your choice of the burger options at MarxFoods.com, including Kobe and wild game burgers! No matter what the winning recipe, the prize can be catered toward your taste.
We’re seeking out the best burger—any kind of burger—regardless of it is made from seafood, veggies, black beans, chicken, lamb, grass-fed beef or sandwiched between a bun, mini-buns, tortilla, or ciabatta bread. The creative possibilities are endless. And don’t get us wrong, we do like beef!
Burgers available from MarxFoods.com include:
Kobe Yak Elk
Eaton Grass-Fed Beef Llama Venison
Antelope Ostrich Kangaroo
Mixed Sampler Box Bison Wild Boar
And if those don’t appeal to you because you’re vegetarian (or for other reasons) we’ll give you a $100 gift certificate to MarxFoods.com.
The winning burger recipe will be judged by the MarxFoods.com staff on deliciousness and originality. Please only enter a recipe that can be created in a home (vs. professional) kitchen or grill, is original and from scratch. Each contestant is limited to entering one recipe.
We’ll also send the winner biodegradable, compostable and very chic looking Palm Leaf Plates to make your next burger cookout that much more convenient.
A winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 23.
TO ENTER:
Submit your recipe, with a title in the form at MarxFoods.com or in the comment section below. Stories are welcome and if you have an accompanying photo (sometimes pictures tell the best story) please send it to us and we’ll add it to your post. Feel free to include recipes for side dishes that pair well with your burger.
Contest Rules and Regulations

And finally, Paz tagged me for this visual meme. If you don’t know Paz, check her out. I love her varied posts from good food to daily shots of life in New York City. I feel a trip coming on soon.Post you 10 best food shots and tag others to participate. My type of Meme. Now I am not a photographer by any means. But I have come a long way since my first photos . Thanks to stealing Certain Someones camera and learning from you all.

Nothing says summer like Papaya/Coconut Ice Cream!

A Daring Bakers Perfect Party Cake.

Chicken I never blogged about. It looked better before cooking than cooked in a slow cooker.
A lovely flan. I’m starting to learn about natural light.
I loved the frost chilled effect of my homemade rum raisin ice cream.
I still get a lot of Taste Spotting hits on this Shrimp and long bean dish.

Finally a decent looking roast picture!

Fruits and vanilla bean for preserves.

Not a great picture but it managed to scare the crap out of a lot people. My Aunt jumped from her seat by the computer. I was proud of my Marzipan rabbit in my Buche de Noel. I guess from a certain angle it looks trapped under a log. I cant help it if it looked a little to real for people. Call me the twisted baker.It’s the Scorpian in me I guess.
A refreshing cream limoncello. I could go for some now!

I won’t tag anyone else because so many of you have been or don’t want to be. Feel free to play along!I hope you do!Its fun to see how far you have come in photography.