Projects, New and Old; Big and Small



It's not every day that I'm struck with the lightning bolt of creativity. More days than not are culinary disasters. Case in point, the other morning I was craving pancakes, and got up to make them. My milk was frozen and so I used heavy cream that I thinned out. DID NOT WORK. No worries, I thought. I'll just make some toast. BURNED IT. So, I got back in bed and waited for lunch time. Macarons. Well, though I've made them successfully at work, I can't at home. They're beautiful, feet and all, smooth shell, but also HOLLOW. Yes, I've been humbled in a lot of my endeavors, but I carry on.

I had countless notebooks, pads, paper scraps-not to mention pages bookmarked under "Recipes to Try," notes in my phone-laying around the house with ideas, thoughts, flavors, sketches, recipes (untitled, I might add and often just ingredient lists) scribbled in them that nag at me constantly. Some are small, like cupcakes for a friend's party, cookies I'm craving. Or making Whoopie Pies to use up a jar of 'Mallow Fluff I found in the cabinet.

While tackling the little things, I've had this larger one lurking in the background. Part of me tried to ignore it, but since I haven't any other excuses, I decided to finish it and test it out. I finally cut, glazed and tasted it today. While I am happy with the initial results in that I don't have to start from square 1, there are a few things to tweak. I won't divulge details other than it's called "The Candy Bar." Since this dessert was built in my half-sheet frame, I'm going to need a lot of friends to help me finish this one off before I can make another one (and pass out pieces of that too). Until then, enjoy this teaser in anticipation.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Not fair! I'm going to have to buy twinkies, coat them with chocolate, and eat the lot! And repeat until you share or tell!
2:56 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

L2O Pain au Lait Rolls

Image
Last year for my birthday, I had the pleasure of dining at L2O, a fine dining restaurant that tastefully uses "molecular gastronomy" here in Chicago. I'd done a stage there, unfortunately it did not work out, but I am still quite impressed with Laurent Gras' food philosophy, how well run and organized the kitchen was, as well as the vibe between the cooks. Anyway, months later I had the pleasure of receiving the recipe for their pain au lait rolls via email from Time Out Chicago . These rolls were so good that I chose them more often than the others that were offered in selection from their bread basket. I'd filed the recipe away, and recently had the pleasure of making some for a dinner party. Initially the recipe was converted from weight in ounces to volume, so when I made it, not only did I double-check the accuracy (I found discrepancies) I converted it to a more accurate gram measure. So, pulling out my measuring cups, I converted it correctly to grams...
Read more

Key Lime Pie

Image
I will admit that I don't like a lot of citrus desserts.  I like my lemons sour-I eat them with salt-and I'm not too keen on key lime pies, though my mother loves them.  Making lemon curd is torture to me.  To stand over the pot, stirring the mix of yolks, lemon juice and sugar while smelling the proteins in the yolks coagulate is not a thing of pleasure.  I honestly think it stinks myself, but to each his/her own.  This doesn't mean I don't make the things I don't like very well.  In the world of pastry, you have to cook for your guests and customers, even if that means making something you don't eat. When changing jobs, going into a new kitchen and executing the previous chef's menu, you're torn between keeping their style, and asserting your own (these events are often booked months in advance, and some have tastings where the expectations are established).  So when I read Deconstructed Key Lime Pie on the menu, like a flip book, the ideas flicker...
Read more

Taste of Chicago

Image
Bear with me. I took photos when I went yesterday, but since those photos include my friend's daughter, I won't post them here. Instead, I'll feature the biggest reason I returned to the Taste this year: the Original Rainbow Cone. I introduced myself to this addicting delight last year. The only day I had off to go to the Taste was on the last Saturday of the event (I believe) and it was the worst day to go. Everyone and their aunt-uncle-cousin-grandma-greatgrandpa-was there. I had to fight to get to the food, fight my way out to Buckingham Fountain to enjoy the view of the lake and to eat my food without an elbow in my face, then fight my way back into the crowd to start all over again. I don't know how I ended up in the monster of a line for the ORC, but I did know that it had to be worth it, seeing as how I practically had to fight to keep my place in line. When I finally got to the counter, I took my cone back out to free space and began to enjoy the best ...
Read more