Category: Instructional
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How To Make Candied Citrus Peel Or Zest
Using orange, lemon or grapefruit zest is a great way to incorporate the essence of that fruit into any food or dessert that you are making. Most of the stores here carry candied versions of neon colored fruit that are usually taken out during the Holidays to be included in batches of homemade fruit cakes…but…
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An Exercise in Plating
Food presentation has come a long way from the family style type of serving we all grew up with, where piles of piping hot food, gravies and sides were passed around the table on huge platters. Nowadays, professional Chefs and home Chefs alike have not only become artists in the cooking of their dish,…
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How To Make A Fondant Flower
I currently run a cookie manufacturing company, but for many years I was a very well known Cake Artist in Maryland, and gained national notoriety after I was chosen as one of the top Pastry Chefs in the USA and also chosen as one of Baltimore’s Best cake designers back in the 90’s. One of…
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A Beautiful Bearnaise
I was a vegetarian for many years, so it will not surprise you when I say that I’m not much of a meat eater. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good steak, but it’s not something I would indulge in every day…give me a great piece of fish on the other hand, and I…
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An Art Deco Easter Egg
Growing up in a Greek home, it was not uncommon for us to set a whole day aside during Easter week to color eggs and bake the traditional braided Greek bread called tsoureki (pronounced tsu-re-ki). The beautifully bright colored eggs that adorn this delicious bread are first boiled, then colored and then baked into the…
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Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Recently, I’ve been thinking of taking on the challenge of cheese making…not to the extent that I would want to try my hand at many of the aged cheeses, but I definitely want to familiarize myself with some of the easier products to make…like mozzarella and feta. A good way to start is by trying…
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All About Gelatin
As a Pastry Chef, one of the ingredients that I use quite often and could not live without is gelatin. In the food industry, gelatin is used in the preparation of many different confectionary items such as marshmallows and gummy bears, but it is also used as a stabilizer for pastillage (gum paste), whipped cream…
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Mother Sauces
I think that the basics of good cooking does not only involve the preparation of a good meal, but many times involves the preparation of a flavorful sauce that compliments but does not over power a dish. A mother sauce is a base sauce that is used in making different variations of the original sauce.…
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Crème Anglais
Crème Anglais is one of those versatile sauces/bases that you can use for many different things. I use it not only as a desserts sauce, but as a base for a delicious custard ice cream or for a Bavarian mousse. I made a batch today to show you how easy it is to make. Once…
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Going Ga Ga For Ghee
I am always looking for ways to make food taste better with little or no effort. One culture that really knows how to flavor food beautifully is India…Living in Australia for many years, my mother had several friends with whom she worked who were from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Apart from being absolutely lovely people, people from…
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Part 3-Swiss Meringue
Making Swiss meringue is quick and easy. You can either use it to make a durable meringue shell, or you can opt to make buttercream. I decided to make buttercream, so that I could make use of my chiffon cake that we made a few days ago when we made French meringue. I had cooled the cake and…