In Pursuit of Pastry

A very close friend reached out to me recently with the sad news that his wife's brother had unexpectedly passed away.  My buddy wanted me to create some kind of dessert to honor his wife's brother.  Even though his wife wouldn't get to taste it (thanks to the COVID sequestering situation), he wanted me to adhere to certain restrictions.  1) the pastry had to be gluten-free (because his wife is); and 2) I couldn't use any almonds, because she doesn't like almonds.  I was told to push my limits and see what I could come up with. This was a big challenge for me because I have never "created" anything before.  That's not what I do.  I "re-create" things other people created by way of their recipes and formulas.  So, I would really be pushing my limits with this one! I spent an entire day thinking about the assignment.  Finally, the next morning, I came up with an idea!  I thought I would make individual cream tarts.  It would give me a ...

Our first week back from Spring Break was spent studying Quick breads.  Quick breads are just that - breads that are quickly made.  This is because no yeast is used. Instead, they rely on either chemical leaveners (such as baking soda or baking powder and the like) or air ( Irish Soda Bread, and the other soda breads that I wrote about in a previous entry, are quick breads.  There isn't much to write about quick bread, I, at least, don't find them overly exciting.  But they are handy things to have in your repertoire.  There are two methods to make quick breads - the muffin method and the biscuit method.  The muffin method is used to make muffins and, believe it or not, the biscuit method is used to make biscuits!  It's the way the fat is incorporated into the flour that gives biscuits and muffins their distinctive characteristics.  I'm not a huge fan of muffins and biscuits, but if I had to choose, I prefer muffins. They're lighter and soft...

Two years ago this month, in April 2018, I walked through a doorway into a kitchen in Louviers, France. Little did I realize that it was a magic portal that would change the course of my life. In the kitchen, I met Susan Herrmann Loomis, chef, cookbook author, and culinary instructor who has since become my culinary mentor and a dear friend. It was while studying French cuisine under her watchful eye that my love of cooking and baking turned into a passion. When I first entered the “On Rue Tatin” cooking school kitchen, cooking was a hobby. A week later, I was on the road to a new vocation. Now two years later, I find myself enrolled in pastry school, contemplating retirement and beginning a second career. Whatever the future brings, for now at least I’m having the time of my life! Thank you for everything Susan!  The Portal of Destiny On Rue Tatin kitchen Ready to start cooking! Lemon Meringue Pie station Susan Me, Scott, Susan, & Jess Su...

I thought Week 5 was going to be a difficult week for me because we had to make Coconut Macaroons because I do not like shredded coconut.   At all.   I dreaded having to eat one because just the thought of a mouth full of shredded coconut makes me shudder.   After all, my earliest childhood memory is of getting sick after eating a cake decorated with shredded coconut.  But I did my best, and I made some nice looking (and I’m told tasting) macaroons.   I DID actually try one because we have to describe the taste and mouthfeel in our report.  I actually liked the flavor (I do like coconut flavor, just not the shredded stuff) but the mouthfeel was disgusting.  Like eating fingernails.  Blech!   Anyway,  I survived what I had thought would be the most difficult week of Baking 101. Little did I know another challenge faced me in Week 6. Week 6 focused on what are known as Pressed Cookies or Bagged Cookies.   They’re called this b...