bkeith

Thanks much! Up to my elbows in weddings today. But I just saw there's another picnic coming up. I'll see if I can carve out some room in my schedule.

I bought a ceramic knife when I was in Tokyo a few years back. Love it. I generally reserve it for vegetables, though it works great on meat too. You just don't want to go hacking away at bones with it. It stays super sharp -- no steeling, no sharpening (and no dropping on the floor!). Lighter than a steel knife, so less chance of hand fatigue on long chopping sessions (not really something I worry about, but figured I'd point it out anyway). The potential for breakage is, of course, the drawback to these knives. But take good care of it, and it'll be your friend for life.

That's a cool idea, but I get crazy enough delivering cakes once or twice a week in this area. I can't imagine having to run cupcakes all over the place on a daily basis. As I drove by 2 Sisters (coffee shack on Broad Street in Falls Church) yesterday I was thinking what a neat idea it would be to do something similar with cupcakes. Just a drive-by/walk-by place, no indoor seating. Cupcakes and coffee with the morning (and afternoon!) commute. Location would be key, though.

Ice cream sauces (caramel, butterscotch, chocolate) -- not difficult and lots better tasting that store-bought. (I keep threatening to can them for Christmas gifts but never remember come December.) And of course ice cream to go along with them. Garlic chutney, peach preserves (recipes posted in another thread on canning and preserving, as I recall). Various curds (lemon, lime, passionfruit). Mostly for cakes, but sometimes just to have around. Another thing I should think about canning for gifts. Sometimes if I've got a quart or two of cream that's been around too long I'll make butter (use the resulting buttermilk for bread or biscuits). That really gets my friends' eyes rolling. Candied ginger (mktye -- peeling ginger is really quick if you use a spoon). Candied citrus peel -- often dipped in chocolate. And yes, the syrups are fabulous. Various brittles (almond, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan -- who needs peanuts?). Also dipped in chocolate. I make stock fairly often, but at least half the batches get stuck into the fridge for a few days before I can get back to them to degrease/clarify/etc. Those generally get added to the dogs' food.

Nope, different guy altogher. But I do remember doing a double-take the first time I saw Mr. columnist Brown's byline in the Post not long after meeting Mr. lawyer-baker Brown.

Ooh! A topic near and dear to my heart. I love love LOVE fruitcake. Growing up, it was one of main reasons to look forward to Christmas. I never got fruitcake jokes until I was at an adult and tried a commercial fruitcake. Bleh. Until I started working with cakes, the thought of icing a fruitcake would never have occurred to me. But as good as plain fruitcake is, there's something magical about the combo of fruitcake, marzipan, and royal icing (or good rolled fondant). That and a strong cup of coffee will take you a long way. Couple notes: . You can age fruitcake with almost anything. I like bourbon. I also like it on my fruitcakes. But I've also used rum, a bit of Grand Marnier, brandy, even apple juice once for a friend who doesn't like alcoholic desserts. Stored that one in the fridge, just in case. . Royal icing is indeed hard, but to ice a cake with it, you add a bit of glycerine. Keeps it just soft enough to cut and eat without doing harm to the old dental work. And properly applied it's quite a thin layer -- just enough to cover the marzipan and keep it from drying out. I wasn 't planning on doing fruitcakes this year (just did a huge batch last year, so was going to skip), but if there's a December get-together in the works (hint, hint), I may have to throw a small batch together and ice one up for the group.

Hi folks, Sorry I've been so absent. (Have a look at the "2005 Oklahoma Sugar Art Show" thread on the eGullet Pastry and Baking forum to see what I've kept busy with for the last couple months). mktye asked me to chime in with a comment or two. In the interest of full disclosure: 1: I know and like Warren Brown. He's a nice guy and I wish him all the best with his business and his new TV gig. 2: Despite that, believe it or not, I've never tasted a single one of CakeLove's products. I've been invited to tasting events, but they always conflict with other events my schedule. And I only ever seem to make it to U Street after business hours. So I'm commenting based on what I know in general, not what I know about these particular products. Given that, here's my take on cake, buttercream, and temperature. Cold cake tastes and feels like stale cake. That's just the nature of the beast. But a cake that has been refrigerated or frozen for a time ought to (not necessarily will, but ought to) rejuvenate to taste/feel like fresh cake with no problem. The variables are temp and time. Refrigeration accelerates the staling process in all baked goods ("staling" referring to a starch conversion and water migration leading to a product that's not necessarily any drier but tasting and feeling old, dry, and worn out. See Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking" for a full discussion of what happens in the staling process). Freezing, on the other hand, retards staling and actually makes a cake taste and feel moister when you eat it. Consumers don't like hearing this, but it's true. Provided it's wrapped correctly, frozen in the right type of freezer (not frost-free), and retrieved in a timely manner, freezing actually improves the quality of baked goods. Unfortunately, the word "frozen" has the implication of "not fresh", so it gets a bum rap. (Same for many fruits and veggies -- the frozen ones are often of a better quality than the fresh ones in the produce section because they can be picked ripe, frozen, and shipped, rather than shipped green and "ripened" artificially in a warehouse somewhere). So, long story short (too late). Freezing isn't necessarily bad if it's done right. Refrigeration, though, can be a killer. FWIW, i refrigerate all my cakes due to the fillings, icings, and ease of transport. When the buttercream (or mousse or ganache or curd or what have you) is at room temp, it's also softer, squishier, and more prone to move, especially in the back of the car on DC streets (plus, with all the eggs, cream, etc. in that stuff, I just feel better about it not sitting out). So give it all a chill to hold it together, and let it warm up while it's sitting still. But I'm in a different business than CakeLove. My stuff has the opportunity to sit at room temp for a few hours at the reception site so by the time it's eaten, the chill is off. I know that everyone's going to eat my cake at around the same time, so I can plan for that. CakeLove has to have stuff ready to eat all day long. Also FWIW, to combat the damage that the fridge does, I use soaking syrups on all my cakes. They add flavor and extra moisture, so the sit overnight in the fridge doesn't take such a toll. I have no idea whether CakeLove uses such a strategy or not. Cold icing tastes like not much at all. Again, nature of the beast. From the comments and descriptions, I'm guessing CakeLove uses some sort of cooked icing (eggs, yolks, or whites whipped, cooked with a hot sugar syrup added to the bowl, beaten until cool, then butter and flavor whipped in). But it doesn't much matter. Most icings that we encounter are largely fat. Whether it's an unctuous French buttercream or that Crisco/powdered sugar mix that so many decorators use, the icing on our cakes is often at least 30%-35% fat by weight. While it's true that fat carries flavor, fat is also pretty good at concealing flavor if it doesn't have a chance to melt. And any product containing a large quantity of fat (buttercream, chocolate, croissants, leftover bacon, what-have-you) isn't going to have nearly as much flavor right out of the fridge as it will if left to come to room temp. Plus, the texture of cold fat isn't terribly pleasant in the mouth. As for the icing separating/sliding off/whatever at room temp. If that's really happening, then I'd suggest that Warren should re-evaluate his recipes. Buttercream ought to hold together at room temp under normal conditions. If not, it's unbalanced. But again, I haven't experienced the product or the problems documented here. So I'm speculating. "Well duh, Keith. We know all that. We've been saying that the stuff at CakeLove is dry and the buttercream is flavorless. What's the solution?" Heck, I don't know. There's a reason I never wanted to get into the business of selling individual portions of baked goods. If they're baking daily for that day's sales, the product could easily sit at room temp (or in a case that can hold them slightly below room temp -- surely such a thing exists) all day. A true cooked buttercream is shelf stable and safe at room temp for a few days (believe it or not). Though of course the DC Dept of Health may disagree, and they're going to have final say in such a matter. If I ran the zoo, that's the way I'd want to store the goods. Anything left at the end of the day would be frozen, wrapped up in a container or similar items, and sold at 1/2 - 2/3 price as take-home combo packs. Sliced cakes could easily hang around a couple days (stick them in the freezer overnight and thaw in the morning). After a couple days, just pitch and write off I should think. Or freeze individual slices and make combo packs of them too. It's a tough call. Trying to maintain a balance among high-quality patisserie with melt-in-your-mouth icings and fillings, unscheduled walk-in customers who want something ready to eat right now, and compliance with local health regulations is a high-wire act to say the least. Sounds like CakeLove hasn't quite found its balance there. Or maybe had it but lost it due to the fairly rapid growth they underwent? I can't judge. But for their sake, I hope they can make it work. Sorry for the long, geeky screed. Hope it's of some value to someone.

"My cousin works at McDonald's, and she lobster new Lee Press-on fingernail in the pickle bucket."

Garlic Chutney This makes a lot, but it's easy to do and makes a great gift. It also keeps a long time in the refrigerator. I got this from Mimi Hiller. Not sure where she got it from. Great on crackers, spooned over chicken or fish before baking, or just right out of the jar with a spoon. 2 pounds apples, peeled, cored and quartered 1-1/2 pints white vinegar 2 pounds dark brown sugar 1 pound raisins 2 heads garlic, cloves separated, peeled and chopped fine 4 ounces crystallized ginger, chopped fine 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon dry pepper flakes Cook apples in vinegar till soft and mushy. Add remaining ingredients (adding only half the pepper flakes) and mix well. Cook over moderate heat about 10 minutes. Taste. If spicier taste wanted, add remaining pepper flakes. Cook 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Pour into sterile jars and seal.* If not sealing, store in refrigerator. Makes 8 jelly glasses. * I use a boiling water bath to seal these - no need for a pressure canner. Smoky Tomato Ketchup I pulled this off of rec.food.cooking years ago. I make a batch every once in a while and just keep it in the fridge. WAY better than regular ketchup. 5 pounds tomato -- coarsely chopped (or 3 28 oz. cans crushed 1 large onion -- finely chopped 1 poblano chili -- finely chopped 2 jalapeno -- coarsely chopped 2 dried chipotle chilies -- or canned 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon celery seed 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons salt Combine all ingredients in a large nonreactive pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft an sauce is reduced by 1/4. Puree in food processor. Strain through a sieve into a clean pot (for a chunkier catsup, don't strain). Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and simmer (partially covered to prevent splatters) for 1 hour or until quite thick and dark brownish red. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 month. Freeze for longer storage or can (boiling water bath). Peach Preserves From The Joy of Cooking. First time I made this for gifts, my mother's comment was "the only thing wrong with that jar of preserves was that it wasn't big enough." Really fabulous peach flavor. Peaches, skinned, pitted, cut into lenghwise slices For each cup of fruit, allow: 3/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice Pour sugar over fruit, stir gently, and let stand 2 hours. Add lemon juice and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to maintain the simmer and avoid scorching. Continue cooking until fruit is transparent (I use a candy thermometer and stop cooking when the temperature reaches 221F -- for the true geeks, meaure the temp of boiling water in your area and add 9 degrees). Place in jars and seal (hot water bath). If there's too much syrup, place the fruit in jars and continue boiling syrup to concentrate it before pouring over fruit.

Every year I swear I'm going to to a big batch of peach preserves, and every year I get swamped just as the peaches are ready to be preserved. Maybe this year... I like to stick a jar or two of something home-canned in Christmas baskets/stockings every year. Big hits in years past have been the aforementioned peach preserves, peach butter, apple butter, blueberry marmalade, brandied pears, garlic chutney, smoky ketchup. The nice thing about the last two is that they don't depend on things being in season (I can used canned tomatoes instead of fresh, etc.), so they're easier to fit into my schedule.

I'm still bringing the ice cream maker and various options for ice cream. And something cake-like will accompany me. No promises on what it'll look like since I did a number on my shoulder yesterday morning -- I may shoot my wad delivering this morning's wedding cake. But it'll be interesting. And cakey.

Sounds like a perfect job for 8-year-old boys. Keep 'em from pulling the wings off of flies.

Sounds like fun. Depending on the day I'd love to join the party if there's still room. Happy to bring along a pasta machine too.

Thanks for the education. I'll see if I can find inspiration in there somewhere.

One and the same. Now I have to figure out what a ventworm is.

Hi all, I'm new to the board (just got my ID cleared). Mktye alerted me to the site and the picnic and asked me to come along. I'm a pretty desserty person, so I'm sure I'll be bringing something sweet. Maybe a batch of coleslaw too, and the folks who don't like to see it on BBQ can just look the other direction. I do have a hand-crank ice cream machine and am happy to bring it, along with some custard to churn. No real need to the ice cream to cure after churning, as long as you like a soft-serve consistency that'll melt pretty quickly. Just let me know, and I'll haul it along.