I know I’ve been MIA but I’m busily preparing for a re-design/re-launch so excuse the bare bones appearance of my blog. xoxo Jenn
I spent 3 hours making pasta last night and had the brilliant idea of making a tart this morning, before work. Looking back, I think I needed the pastry fix because pasta was way out of my comfort zone. It was truly the first time I’ve done it from scratch and while fun, I definitely need more practice.
Let’s all sing together now shall we? “Do you wanna build a snowman…” or perhaps just the faces in this case. I was inspired to make these marshmallows after seeing a set at Williams-Sonoma during the Christmas holiday. I used my favorite recipe, Vanilla Marshmallows, from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. For the lovable faces, I melted chocolate and whipped up a batch of royal icing.
Happy Holidays! I told myself I’d keep things simple this season and make just one shortbread recipe for all my gifts, bake sales, cookie swaps and parties. I saw the gorgeous shortbread wreath cookies on the December cover of Bon Appetit Magazine and I HAD to make them.
In pastry school, I fell in love with homemade English muffins and I’ve been obsessed with making them ever since. Taste them fresh and you can never go back to store-bought, unless of course, you’re in a pinch and need some for your egg bennies. Last year, I made Napa’s Model Bakery English muffins, my favorite. The bakery cooks them on a cast-iron griddle with a lot of clarified butter so the muffins get super crisp and almost flaky. So good.
So how do Bouchon Bakery’s English muffins compare? The main difference is in the cooking method. They’re baked vs griddled. Second, the recipe calls for a (4 day) starter. The things I do for homemade goodness. Read on to find out how I did with this recipe.
The August 2009 Gourmet Magazine cover featured a glorious stack of ice cream sandwiches. So many food magazines, so many covers but that one I remember the best. I’m still sad that the magazine shuttered. I have fond memories of walking through the Conde Nast building and up to the Gourmet floor where the scripted black logo sign hung at the entrance. I worked with their events team at one point and I’m grateful to have collaborated with such an iconic magazine when I had the chance. Okay, enough reminiscing, and onto the sandwiches!
