Filed under: Dessert , Food Porn , Grains , Dairy , Recipes , Fruit , Baking , How To , Eggs , Cooking Live with Slashfood

Filed under: Vegetarian , Vegan , Books , Cookbook of the Day Vegan cooking may sound intimidating - or possibly unappetizing - at first, but I assure you that it's not. After all, there are lots of things that even omnivores eat on a regular basis that are vegan, like salads, pasta sauces and even cakes , that happen to be vegan and don't get the name attached to them. Vegan with a Vengeance is a book with over 150 excellent recipes that can certainly stand on their own without having to qualify a "yum!" with an excuse about it being vegan. The recipes are, for the most part, inexpensive and easy. One of the things that is great about it is that, unlike some other vegan cookbooks, there are quite a few recipes for cookies and other baked goods. Check out the ginger cookies and the stunning "fauxstess" cupcakes  at Rae's blog, bunnyfoot , where she sampled a few of the recipes from the cookbook with excellent results. It is a fantastic book to get if you want to have a vegetarian meal once in a while to give your diet (and your family's) some variety, not just if you're vegan. It is also a very useful book to have if you are dealing with allergies to dairy or eggs. If you actually are vegan, however, this is a "must have" in your cookbook collection.

Filed under: Chocolate , Books , Cookbook of the Day Alice Medrich must be one of the most talented pastry chefs to have ever published a cookbook. "Pastry chef" seems like a better description than "baker" because, though she bakes, she specializes in chocolate. Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate is an exceptional work from her and won the IACP awards for Best Single Subject Cookbook and Cookbook of the Year in 2004, after the book was released. The book covers different types of chocolate, detailing levels of sweetness and types of cocoas, and provides a wealth of information on how to work with it, including troubleshooting common problems. Not only does it cover the topics, but Medrich explains the difficult nature of chocolate in an extremely eloquent way, something which not all writers who have tackled the topic can claim. While her prose is detailed, it pales in comparison to the level of specificity that Medrich applies in her recipes. While it may seem intimidating at first glance, the recipes are still very readable and can walk the cook through from start to finish of some of the most mouthwatering chocolate creations you can imagine. The book is also full of stunning illustrations, should you need any encouragement to attempt the recipes.

Filed under: Baking , Raves & Reviews , Food Gadgets I am not a huge fan of silicone bakeware because I prefer both the stability and browning abilities of my more traditional metal and glass pans. I do, however, appreciate the nonstick factor that silicone has. Consequently, I love using my silpat whenever I'm not using parchment paper , particularly when working with sticky things, like sugars and candies. It should have occurred to me sooner that this same nonstick feature would prove itself to be extremely useful in other areas of cooking, such as working with doughs. I am referring to silicone rolling pins , which are fantastic for preparing cookie doughs and just about anything else that needs to be rolled out. I was able to try one out at a friend's house this past week (just like the one pictured here) while we were making some sugar cookies and it worked perfectly. I'm attached to my wooden French rolling pin , but I think I'll have to consider an upgrade now that I know there are French-style silicone pins , as well. Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Dessert , Vegetarian , Dairy , Cheese , Recipes , Fruit , How To , America , Italy , Sugar

Filed under: Books , Baking , Cookbook of the Day Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook is Martha's most up-to-date baking compendium. Unlike some of her early cookbooks this one is illustrated with mouthwatering photos of the recipes, and though many of her older books willcontinue to be staples in my kitchen, it is a lovely touch and makes the book that much more pleasurable just to flip through. The book is appropriate for both novices and experienced bakers because there are step-by-step recipe guides, equipment tips and lots of basic recipes, as well as more complex multi-component projects. This also means that there is a lot of opportunity to increase your skill level without having to buy multiple books. If you want to sample a few of the recipes, Chubby Hubby has the divine-looking Carrot-Ginger Cupcakes and you can see a video of Martha's French Almond Macaroons being prepared with Katie Couric on the Today show a few months ago.

Filed under: Food Gadgets I have a problem. The timer on my oven is broken. Truth be told, I'm relieved because it went out in a blaze of glory - by which I mean that it made its high pitched beeping sound for about 2 days straight. By unplugging the oven, I was able to shut it off temporarily that was only a temporary solution, as I still wanted to use the oven. Now that the timer has passed on and I still have a functional oven, I am forced to rely on a temporary timer until I buy a new one.

Filed under: Dessert , East Coast , Chocolate , Baking , America , Sugar We've all heard that sort of urban legend in which girls bake cookies or brownies with Ex-lax or other laxative in order to sabotage some other girl's chances in a cheerleading tryout or perhaps just to be be mean.

Filed under: Recipes , Baking , How To , Did you know? Baking powder and baking soda are both types of chemical leaveners used in baking. The two have different properties, so they cannot simply be substituted for one another directly. Baking soda is also known as bicarbonate of soda. It reacts with acidic ingredients, such as buttermilk, yogurt and molasses to create bubbles of carbon dioxide, which causes batter to rise. It starts to work immediately when exposed to the acidic ingredient, so a batter made with baking soda should generally be baked as soon after mixing as possible. Baking soda can also aid in browning during baking.

Filed under: Parties , Dessert , Culinary Kids , Baking Children's birthday parties are noisy, chaotic and always chock full of sugar, sugar, sugar. It is nearly impossible to stray from the sweet path while planning a child's party. What group of eight and nine year-olds is going to get giddy over kelp snack packs or tofu sandwiches? I don't ever really relish the thought of being trapped in an enclosed space with ten screaming with eight year-olds who are hopped up on candy and cake, but as a mother wanting to give her daughter a fabulous blow out what am I to do? Whip up a batch of carob muffins with sugar free apple sauce on the side? I think not. However, I have found one way to lessen the blow somewhat. Fruit Pizza. It is fast, easy and not as evil as a lard laden cake from the grocery store bakery, plus the children love it and eat it all so that I can't. I don't really follow any set recipe, but following is a loose description of how to make it. Bake one tube of store bought sugar cookie dough in desired shape. Sometimes if I am truly inspired I will make my own sugar cookie dough. Let cool. Cut desired fruits into small, appealing shapes. I try to use fresh fruit and as much of a variety as I can. the more colorful the better. For the sauce I will usually use the sauce from a can or two of cling peaches. Slowly heat this with about a cup of strawberries, fresh if possible, to a boil. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the mixture cool a bit and strain out the strawberries. Arrange the fruit in a pleasing pattern and then drizzle on the sauce. Ice cream or fresh whipped cream can be added if the mood grips you. Fruit pizza is best when eaten immediately. If it is allowed to sit around, the sauce saturates the cookie and you are apt to end up with a colorful pile of goo. Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments