The Joy Is In the Sugar

Let's Be Serious For A Moment

2010-01-22T06:09:00.007-06:00

Ever been in the mood for a cookie? If there are none around or only the dry, prepackaged selections from the gas station, you know they are important little pieces of work. They are tedious, but worth it. Some people will turn down a slice of cake or a bowl of ice cream but most people can make room for a little cookie. And a homemade cookie is a thing of love.

Now there are definite favorites in the world of cookies. The most popular Girl Scout cookies are, in this order, Thin Mints, Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches and then Shortbread. I'm not a big store bought cookie fan. They have no spirit and I don't think that a human being had a whole lot to do with their creation. So, I avoid them and their souless existence unless I'm desperate and tired.

In the world of home bakers there is some dispute with the top few but they typically include sugar cookies, chocolate chip and oatmeal. While the typically popular cookies are all undeniably enjoyable, I have a cookie that has been the star of my show for the past few years. It is a butter almond cookies, much like a shortbread. I make them without eggs and they become delicate and light while baking. I normally dip them in either white chocolate and crushed pistachios or dark chocolate and almonds. They are elegant enough for a sweet table and comforting enough for your nightstand.

The most tedious and time consuming cookie is the decorated sugar cookie. The dough is chilled, rolled, cut and cooled. The icings are colored, piped and dried. The packaging is fun and I could pretty much shop in any store and find a fun way to store them. Trust me when I tell you that if someone cares enough to make you decorated sugar cookies...well, they care enough.

So, don't take your cookies for granted. They take time and energy and never get the respect or admiration of a 3 tiered cake or a tart or even a pie, all of which take only a part of the time it take to make most of the cookies I make. Save a pastry chef, eat a cookie.

It's Not You, It's Me

2010-01-21T06:57:00.004-06:00

Let's just get this out of the way....I have abandoned this blog for 8 months while I focused on the very thing I write about. I love that damn kitchen and my garden so once I get in either of those places, it is like nothing else matters. That includes this blog. Well, I have seen the error of my ways. I'm back and touting the glory of sugar and its partners in crime.

This time of year places me smack dab in the middle of when I can plan for the garden that will bring me ingredients to obsess over. So, I think a lot of the plants I have hidden under the snow out there in the plot. My rhubarb plant, of course, came back this summer and grew with a vengeance. I was able to make several pies including one for an old guy in northern Michigan who hadn't had this pie since he was a kid. I did my best and he approved. That damn plant is like the loaves and fishes. It just kept on giving. I even made rhubarb creme brulee. So, I have faith as most gardners do that it will keep on keeping on. If you want something rhubarb, hollar at me.

I planted strawberry plants two years ago and last year, while not overwhelmingly fruitful, were growing deep roots and spreading like the good little plants I knew they would be. They even started to sneak outside the garden fence. I do not blame them for wanting to expand their reach. I also planted raspberry and blackberry plants which did suprisingly well for their first year. I always say, "Hey there" when I pass by the snow covered garden. They look dead, but they are not. They are saving up their energy because very soon they will show themselves as perfect partners for my mad skills with sugar.

So I am quite apologetic for my absence. I just love to be around the food and there isn't a speck in this office.

Cupcakes are Everywhere

2009-05-08T11:03:00.007-05:00

I know that the cupcake invasion has been coming...and staying for the last few years. Every town has a shop or four. I like to grab a cupcake now and then, without having to create them myself. So, I appreciate the trend. The most recent shop I found is in Livonia, Michigan on 6 Mile Road at Farmington Road. I took a walk with my sister Patti and my neice Laya and landed at the bakery.

They have so many flavors and it does smell sugary good as soon as you walk in. The sign outside declares it "Just Baked". I was secretly wishing that that were just baked because few things dry out quicker than a little cupcake. Well, they weren't all that small and they were super moist. I picked out a dozen and they included some vanilla and chocolate with buttercream. This is my favorite, being a purist for most things, and I found the cake just sweet enough and the frosting was the same. I just couldn't help but wonder why the frosting didn't harden up on the way home....I suspect shortening. Oh why, when we were off to such a great start? I call this American buttercream as opposed to the Italian buttercream that I use.

Two of the remaining cupcakes out of the dozen were a version of a bumpy cake. If you haven't had this delight, well, I can say that it is sweet and chocolatey. I grew up having this cake in full size portions in Detroit and never saw it anywhere else. I actually don't see it much even in Detroit anymore. This owner must have grown up around my part of town. In case you are wondering, the bumpy cake gets its name from the rows of buttercream atop the cake which are covered in a thin chocolate icing, thus making bumpy rows. Those rows called to me when my Mom would bring one home. It was pure torture for me to look at them and not be able to dig in. It could have been a little OCD in me as well. I didn't want that cake to be bumpy. I wanted to smooth it out. But that's just me.

The baker had given us quite a selection to choose from and from what I hear, she is a pretty decent person as well. We took home her pumpkin cupcake, a tropical, and a grasshopper (mint) for the others waiting at home. I didn't taste them so I can't attest. However, I can say that they didn't last and that I ate more than one of the buttercream. The word on the street is that she, who was too busy to talk to, hired back the staff from the previous, long time German bakery who occupied this space for as long as I can remember. Only now, the space is clean and inviting. Try it out and let me know what you think....

Just a Few Thoughts that Flowed Freely

2009-04-14T15:07:00.003-05:00

Is that you, Spring?

Is that you, Spring?
The morning dove is cooing at the sun that wakes me early.
Silent soil’s moving at the plumping of the seeds.
My skin is warm at rising without blankets or arms wrapped right
Earthy tang wafting over porch, over me

Have you come to call on the buds, the blades, the nest builders?
I’ve been awash in expectation since I tucked the flora into bed
While I donned a coat and suffered still from shivers
Watching rain, then sleet, then snow cover my stepping stones
Soothed myself with the wisdom of your patience to see ahead

While the coolness tempered the ground
And the rest built strength in roots
Snow obscured nature’s fermentation
The earth is not lonely, but I am
I delight this morning to hear the soft announcement of the dove

And there she is calling to me
To dig, to nurture the roots, to feel the staleness leave on a breeze
Cobwebs wiped down and spirits hoisted up
The tiniest seed in my hand, some I cannot even see for the size
I say good morning to the rain, the dirt, the birth of a fresh start.

Written by Yours Truly

I Was Obsessed Even Then

2009-03-30T10:03:00.003-05:00

I was looking through some old memorabilia with my Mom yesterday. It was snowy and we didn't want to think about it, so we were off to the basement to put our heads in the old boxes. We saw all sorts of things but the one that made me laugh out loud was a note I wrote to her. I was living in Japan and took a trip with my husband to Tokyo. I wrote that I had seen a very old place of worship and I even got to have a nice Japanese dinner with my then brother in law. Then I ended the note with this line, "The thing that impressed me most was the double chocolate mousse cake that I got from room service". I am certifiable.

I was not yet a pastry chef. Indeed, I was fourteen years from it. But this seems to be the running theme in my life. I remember the rum soaked cake in Paris, the fois gras that I ate every day the second time I went to Paris and the little sandwiches I had in London at the Ritz. I have as many pictures of food as I do people. I took pictures of the mignardise tray at Daniel in New York, of the ladies room (not food, but weird and I thought that they might slap me where I sat if I had tried to photograph the food) at Alinea and dozens at Le Francais where I worked. I had to stop in the park near the shops Laduree and then again near the patisserie Fauchon in France to take the petit fours out of the boxes so I could photograph them. I only took a bite of each. Eating them wasn't the whole point. They were beautiful little babies and I needed to really look at them. And so it goes that I count the moments of my vacations not by days but by meals. My husband will actually say to me, "You only have 4 meals left", because he knows they count with me. I don't like the "quick bite" here or there. I like to think about it, plan it and even check out the menu first. It's an event for God's sake. Respect it.

So, anyway, I admit I am single minded some times. I could be in a place that means a lot to you or that you think should mean a lot to me and I will most likely not be thinking about what you might expect. Even if I am not hungry, I am thinking about what to make you or for me when I AM hungry. I've done it in church, while I'm mowing the lawn or when I am at the doctor's. I cannot stop it. Who would want to stop it? I have been thinking food since I was very very small and I think I will be thinking it until I am very very big.

The Oreo Dilemma

2009-03-14T07:59:00.002-05:00

This here is an Oreo cake. For the last two years my daughter has requested this cake for her birthday. It is a no-bake, layered cake. It is normally made in a big pan and you scoop it out with a big spoon. I layered it in a cake ring (actually two seeing as it made enough for an army) and topped it with chocolate covered oreos. I tried my damndest to make it pretty or to look like something special. Out of all the things I could have made for this girlie, she chose a cake that took me no time and no skill. And no smell. It doesn't even smell like anything at all. But she loves it, so there it is.

Really?

2009-02-24T09:31:00.003-06:00

Okay, I was walking through a local grocery store and was meandering down the aisles. It is the type of store where I have found many unexpected items. My last favorite was the Abuelita Hot Cocoa. I bought it for my sister who just had a new grandbaby. Since this child was a millionth Mexican, I was calling my sister Patti "Abuelita", which is grandmother in Spanish. I know this from reading the highly esteemed http://www.dlisted.com/. The best part was that the grandmother on the front of the box looked more Polish than Mexican. We are also Polish, so I think the box was meant for me.

Yesterday, I went to this same store because they carry the european butter, Plugra, that I use in all of my baking. I also needed to shop the cookie/cracker aisle for a combination to use in a cheesecake crust. I always mix it up so it actually has some flavor and doesn't taste like a robotcouped cardboard box. I saw these cookies and passed them up for one, two, almost three steps before I realized their value. Morning sticks? Really? And they are in a new shape, shall we say? Who eats graham crackers for breakfast anyway? Well, I bought them so I could do a half and half mixture between them and some ginger cookies. I actually hid this box from my teenage daughter because I know her and this subtle humor would not be lost on her. I didn't show them to my husband because the endless "I'll give you a morning stick" would get old for me in half a second, however he would continue to enjoy it for far longer. Oh, and I love that they are honey flavor. Maybe I should call the dessert "The Honey Morning Stick Cheesecake".

These Cakes Are Awesome!!

2009-02-18T07:41:00.004-06:00

I was looking around at pastry sites and ended up finding this gem. These are cake disasters, mistakes, and other assorted cake issues. I was laughing so hard that my Mom came in from the other room to see what had me in stitches. This fireman "design" was our favorite out of the bunch.

To see more cakes and to read the story behind this darling of a cake, go to http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/05/this-made-me-laugh-til-i-cried.html and enjoy a little cake without the calories. Oh, and I don't recommend ever eating a cake that is entirely colored with black frosting.

If This Tree Fell in the Woods, You'd Hear Me Crying

2009-02-17T07:24:00.003-06:00

This is a wild cocao tree in the Amazon region of Bolivia. They do not all look like this and they are not all lucky enough to produce this top notch pod. This is rare stuff. It is picked by locals and they trek it through the jungle to where it can be processed. The beans inside need to ferment, then dry in the sun (real high tech) and then are transported during the rainy season in small boats out of the remote location. They travel in ships to Europe. they are then roasted and conched to bring out their individual flavors and nuances.

So, next time you are biting into a luscious bit of chocolate, consider the journey it took to get to your pearly whites. I order my chocolate from the company that goes through the trouble to get to this remote Bolivian forest. If your chocolate treat is from me, it has made a trek from somewhere wonderful like Bolivia, Venezuela or Ecuador.

For The Love of Chocolate 2009

2009-02-08T08:47:00.012-06:00

To say it was fantastic would be an understatement. We were greeted with a bellini from Barefoot Bubbly and given our passport to collect our stamps from each area. The jazz was live and the bon bons and cookies were a delightful way to begin the evening.

We took the elevator to the second floor where we found the second area with the savory chefs. Another bar, like in every area and a row of tables with chefs and their assistants serving spanish mole, shortribs, breads, duck confit, and savory strudel. The next stop was a darkened room reached by going through a draped off hallway. The candles were lit and the dj was spinning a combination of old and new, which worked. The tables were filled with delectables. A fully constructed plated dessert from The Peninsula Hotel that included banana noodles, chocolate, tiny nut biegnet type pastry and a curry accent that worked. A woman offered us a selection of liqueurs, and I chose a B & B. I chose it again 2 more times. Wow. I've had it before, but the temperature was right on this occasion and was smooth. I also had a chocolate martini and am still surprised that I wasn't suffering the next day.

The next room was a surprise with the music of Chris Freeman who was playing for the belly dancers. The hookah pipes were busy and the bar was busy. We watched for a dance or two and then followed along the path to the cocoa sutra room which was again filled with chefs supplying samples of macarons, mousses, bon bons and cakes interspersed with sculptures and flowers.

Another room had plates of truffles sitting on the end tables, all shiny and perfect. I really couldn't fathom eating anything else. As it was, Christian and I were sharing tiny bites of things. I felt disrespectful of the effort of the chefs, however, I can only take so much. There was tea and it was a welcome palate cleanser. It was also chocolate, but light in flavor. This is where we saw a model in chocolate attire. I don't know how it wasn't melting, but I thought she had probably been asked so many times that I skipped inquiring.

We took to dancing around 930 when the dj played some old school rap we hadn't heard since we were dating. It was fantastic to dance and see everyone around enjoying the pastries and music. We finished up around 1030 and turned in our passport. In return, we were given a gift basket with brioche and a chocolate spread. In the brioche there was a chance of winning a prize. A trip to Paris! We didn't win it, but it was cool. We thought it was so well done and plan on returning next year.

Coupe de Monde de la Patisserie 2009

2009-01-29T06:56:00.005-06:00

The team from France dominated this year. This is their entremet with delicate sugar cala lilies and flawless gloss. The Coupe de la Monde de la Patisserie is a pastry competition best described by Gabrielle Paisillion, the Father of the competition. "The World Pastry Cup was to be, to Pastry, what Formula One is to the Automobile: a reference not to be missed", explained Gabriel Paillasson. It was placed under the aegis of the International Pastry, Confectionery and Ice-cream Professionals, and of the Best Craftsman of France Association. For those of you who look at the art of pastry and dismiss the skills honed in the time honored tradition of master and apprentice, browse the recipe at the link provided and see what you think. The knowledge of ingredients, the skills to create and assemble, and the teamwork required to compete cleanly and professionally are admirable.

http://www.cmpatisserie.com/2009/en/

Here is team USA's submission for the same entremet competition. I am not a fan of kitschy things on a cake, so the depiction of kokopelli just bugs me. It automatically feels cartoonish and brings down the elegance of the whole cake. For me. It draws my eye right to it and I didn't even see the rest of the cake until my third view. I also would have liked a pulled sugar component behind him. Just my opinion, as someone who is nowhere near ready for a competition like this.

http://www.cmpatisserie.com/2009/en/concours/galerie_chocolat_2009/index.php#

***Even though I was sick with the flu this week, the knock at my door pulled me out of bed to a welcome surprise. My mini-bomb molds arrived! They are only 3" wide and aobut 2" tall. I cannot wait to experiment with ice creams, mousses and glazes. Keep in touch for those results!

I'm a purist

2009-01-22T14:13:00.005-06:00

When it comes to baking or broiling or melting or fashioning food in any way, I will usually be drawn to the purest form and flavor. Whether it is bread, coffee, ice cream, candy, or well, anything I can experience, I enjoy it much more if it is in its simplest form. I like to experiment, but if I am planning on eating it, then it will probably be simple.

I had a request from a caramel lover to make her some of my caramels, but with the addition of an ingredient. I know, it seems like a no-brainer to add something to caramels. Most people like them, and some even enjoy the flavor of caramel to chocolate in desserts. So I get it when people add all sorts of stuff to their caramels just to jazz it up. I have seen most flavor under the sun, like pumpkin, bacon, and herbs. But I love my caramels just like they are. I have made many thousands of them and when I cut into them and they are so smooth and shiny and perfect, I am happy. So purposely adding a texture just bugged me. I could put all sorts of things next to it or under it, but I didn't want to put it in it. But she wanted it, so I made it. And they are absolutely delicious. But you will see if you look down the blog that the pure caramels are gorgeous and slick lookin'. With the toasted pecans, they just seem more ordinary. It just seems like you could be hiding anything in there. When it is all perfect right angles as in the plain caramels, you know it is done right. There is no guessing about what you are about to enjoy.

You da Bomb!

2009-01-13T08:03:00.016-06:00

Every year for my husband's birthday, he requests the same dessert referred to as a bomb. It consists of layers of ice cream made in an inverted bowl. I add some type of cake or cookie layer for a base and coat it in one or two different icings/ganaches/whipping cream. If I don't sound too enthusiastic, it's cuz i am most certainly not. It takes very little time, minimal skill and because it is nearly the same every year I feel unchallenged. But it's HIS day and what he wants...well, he gets. And I have to admit, even after all this whining on my part, that it is delicious and satisfying. It even looks like the centerpiece for a celebration. This year, the flavors were that of a banana split, based on a banana bread soaked with simple syrup and banana liqueur (so as not to freeze solid making the cutting dificult). I coated it with a milk chocolate glaze and sweetened whipping cream and mixed nuts.

Christmas in Michigan

2009-01-05T12:11:00.009-06:00

Duo of Mousses with Candied Hazelnuts

I brought a dessert to take to my sister, Margaret's luncheon. She made a beautiful lunch with soup, salad and delicious bread. She can dish out some lovely desserts herself, but she had her hands full with the lunch and all of us. My neice Julie was there and she was about to deliver her baby any day. She doesn't want chocolate or alcohol, so I made her a white chocolate raspberry version of a tiramisu. I used lady fingers soaked in a raspberry simple syrup, a mascarpone cheese mousse and plenty of raspberries for color and flavor. I decorated with white chocolate plaquettes and grated white chocolate, then raspberries. It was super light and everyone dug in.

Mini bouche de Noel filled with hazelnut cream and topped with hazelnut buttercream (not the same thing). I topped with chocolate cigarettes (extra thin) and cocoa powder.

Apple Tart on puff pastry. It is filled with frangipane, an almond cream (with a touch of dark rum). When plated, it had caramel sauce that melts in your mouth. It was supposed to have cinnamon ice cream, but somehow that was not the case. I ordered this particular dessert with my dinner and upon seeing a component missing, entered the kitchen and spent some time reillustrating the proper plating technique. Ugh. I hate that. It was so uncomfortable.

These are the flaky tarts filled with a vanilla pastry cream whipped with a little cream to lighten. I added the fruit (couldn't find a single raspberry up there...ugh again) and piped some whipping cream around the edges. Christian had this that night and said it was great. Bow here.

I worked for a few days at Forest Dunes Golf Club preparing for New Years Eve. They had 132 reservations so we wanted to prepare enough, of course. I made a duo of mousses, dark chocolate hazelnut and white chocolate, flaky tarts with vanilla cream and fruit, vanilla cheesecake with caramel sauce, mini bouch de noel with mini meringue mushrooms,and two types of creme brulee (Tia Maria and Grand Marnier with candied orange peel). The Chef was going to use the delicious resulting simple syrup, which was golden orange and rich in flavor, to candy his mandarin orange segments to accompany his Duck a L'Orange. I was tempted to make a martini out of it, so it was good he spoke up.

We plan on spending most Christmases up at the cottage. It was quiet and peaceful. I wish I could live there. But, alas, it is good to have something to dream about.

You just can't beat a blizzard in Northern Michigan. When you have the chance to get snowed in, do it. The snow just kept coming and we didn't mind a bit. The four wheel drive came in handy when we had to retrieve our camera from a party we were at the night before. This pic is from Stephan Bridge Road where apparently the plow hadn't visited. When you aren't in a rush, it is glorious to be out in it.

Meringue and Pierogi

2008-12-19T07:39:00.002-06:00

The fun of meringue. It is so very versatile. I started out making the traditional mushrooms for the Buche de Noel. And that led to other things like bunnies to accompany the mushrooms. They are so damn cute. It's just sugar, of course with some egg whites. They are baked low and slow to avoid excessive color and so they are safe to eat. Hell, I eat egg white raw all the time and never get sick. But, to be safe, I am careful when I am cooking for other people.

Oh, the lovely pierogi. Most ethnic groups have their version of the pocket of dough wrapped around their favorite (or most accesible) filling. We Polish have the Pierogi. It is a light, yeastless dough that is gently rolled thin, cut, filled, sealed and boiled in water. Then I fry it in butter and serve it with sour cream. My choice for my 4 dozen pierogi is potato, bacon and cheddar. They alone should earn us Poles some respect.

Second Grader's are Sweet Too!

2008-12-16T07:14:00.003-06:00

My sister sent me this story and it's the type of stuff I love. It's clever, but not invented or embellished. I was once a preschool teacher (actually a teacher of the year for Children's World Learning Center one year) and it was a source of the most clever responses.

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday' 'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement. "Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, ''Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!" Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.) 'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall. 'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,'and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there.' Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

The Sweetness of the North Woods

2008-11-30T15:34:00.005-06:00

I have just returned from Michigan where I spent the last 5 days in the best place on earth. The people are real and real nice, the food was delish and the weather was anything but frightful. I love to spend time with the folks that are there. They make me feel happy to hang out, and they always make me feel welcome. Who can argue with hugs, then beer, then stories and jokes? They help each other have fun without it being an all out affair and will never let you make a complete fool out of yourself. If you manage to sneak in being a partial fool...they will forgive you.

We generously call it "taking your turn".

Yeah, I made food. I made a lot of sweets. I made the dessert for Forest Dunes for their Beaujolais Nouveau dinner on Saturday and it was swell. I went on an afternoon snowmobile ride, where I got dumped off. But my husband and I giggled like kids and got back on. It snowed another half a foot and was so quiet to be out in it. It felt like a gift. Peace incarnate. I made soup and spent time cuddled under my softest comforter attempting crossword puzzles while my 12 year old took a nap (this is special in case you didn't know). The time spent up there was reinvigorating, except for the part where I had to leave. With any luck, we will be back in 3 weeks for Christmas.

In Case You Didn't Know

2008-11-22T06:03:00.008-06:00

Sugar Fun Facts

Did you know...sugar is actually sunlight captured and created by plants during the process of photosynthesis and is stored for energy?

Did you know...sugar was one of the first pharmaceutical ingredients used, as it still is today, to mask the bitter taste of medicines?

Did you know...in 1899, the very first carton was used to pack sugar? This revolutionized the sugar business, greatly improving upon the crude wooden barrels from which sugar was originally scooped for customers.

Did you know... that in the late 16th Century, a mere teaspoon of sugar cost the equivalent of five dollars in London?

Did you know...that sugar is the only taste humans are born craving?

The weekend at the Dunes

2008-11-20T05:59:00.001-06:00

Forest Dunes Golf Course in Grayling, Michigan, that is. I was asked to upgrade the desserts at this beautiful restaurant inside the club house. It is called Sangamore's and it was built by the Carpenter's Union not too long ago. It is a lovely club surrounded by a very difficult golf course. I have been at other events, and of course for dinner. The dinners are always enjoyable, really tasty actually. The desserts are a sore subject with the staff and the customers. I could understand after seeing them. They were ordered from an 0ff-site place and so no one on staff had a hard time criticizing them.

With hunting season upon the north woods, the hunters are arriving and they are hungry. In response to this need, the restaurant had decided to offer a Wild Game Dinner Night. To accompany the gamey selections on the menu, I came up with some desserts that would do the dinner justice. I selected two heavy choices and one light choice, for the hunter in the group who wanted something less filling. I prepared the Opera cake with its mocha buttercream, almond jaconde cake, dark chocolate ganache and coffee simple syrup. Secondly, I created a flourless chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce and chocolate plaquettes. The lightest choice was a simple cream puff with ice cream and a duo of sauces, chocolate and caramel. I was told that every patron ordered dessert, which is unusual and exciting.

For the following night, which was actually the opening day for hunting, was dedicated to the ladies. "Ladies, Ladies, Ladies", as my friend Drew McCurdy would say. Well, they answered the call to the tune of 175 women. If you knew how remote this location was you may understand how incredible a turn out that is and from how far away they must have come. I demonstrated how to make the creme brulee and the chocolate cake (18 pounds of chocolate worth for the whole night), to which the women were most attentive. As an audience, they were inquisitive and funny. I made some of the same things as the previous night, albeit in petit four size. I also made caramel candies, lemon curd cakes, poppyseed madeleines with a caramel run sauce and vanilla creme brulee. There were 1200 pieces in all, and they were gone in 2 hours. Good Lord, I was shocked. But happy.

One of the highlights of the weekend was my little assistant. He was my little Chef Alex, Chef Jake's son. He was never in the way and he took away my dirty dishes and brought me his special concoction. He made it up by mixing fruit punch and lemonade and told me, "I just can't quit drinking it". He had sold me. That was my drink, but only for so long. He is little and I am old. It was realllllly sweet. He did me the favor of eating the broken chocolate plaquettes (just some tempered chocolate smoothed over a decoartive cocoa butter design). He tasted a fingertipful of the sauces and even ate a tiny bit of edible gold leaf. I told him that he was increasing in value as he swallowed. He showed up both days and we discussed flavors, textures, aromas and he did not want to leave on the second day. He was to go hang with his Grandpa. He tried to convince his Dad not to take him. I found him, red eyed and sniffling, trying to cover his face, by the walk-in cooler. I pretended not to notice that he was crying, but I could feel for him. I wanted him to stay. Hell, he carried on a hell of a conversation. Did I mention he was still in elementary school? (I had to chant this mantra as I fell to sleep, "You are too old to have another baby, You are too old to have another baby").

I am always nervous entering another Chef's domain. I always thank him (or her) for allowing me the use of their space. Then I ask them to let me know if I am ever using a space that they will be needing or am in the way of any sort. I gave Chef Jake a caramel and he asks, "did you make this?". I reply in the affirmative and throughout the evenings, he would ask the same question about different things, always with my same reply. Yes, I made the desserts, the curd, the chocolate plaquettes, the curls, the tuiles, the chocolate cigarettes. He then saw me plating up the Opera for the Game Dinner and said, "ah ha, did you make the chocolate covered espresso beans?" I could finally answer "no". There would be no point. The quality was high enough for me. I added that I also did not make the berries. If it had been a few months earlier, I could have said that I had grown those too. But, we are in the north woods and it is coooold.

It looks so unassuming

2008-11-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my husband's first day at his new job. I decided that we had to have a celebratory sweet. He said that either lemon or pumpkin were fine, so I chose the lemon because we are about to be bombarded with pumpkin everything. Here's a tip: unless you are starting your pumpkin desserts with a baking pumpkin, roasting it and mashing it yourself...well, you can make those pumpkin sweets all year round. It comes in a can. Ahhhh, I digress.

I made this lemon cake with lemon curd, fresh of course. Damn, lemons are a buck a piece right now. You think I should have gone with the cheap can of pumpkin instead? Cook seasonally, you say? Sometimes it just has to be lemon, even in November. Besides, I am pretending that it is summer and we are just having a particularly cold week. (I can do this until I require boots). Man, I am easily sidetracked. Okay, the curd is in the cake as well as the frosting. It is tangy and light, and easily the most delicate cake I make. I think I have a crush on this cake.

Oh Sugar, I Haven't Abandoned You

2008-11-10T09:02:00.000-06:00

I was preparing for an event this week and decided to make a triple batch of caramels. I usually take them to every event, ordered or not, because they are such a hit and I love them too.

They are so beautiful, both in their simplicity and richness. I have also made the things actually ordered. There will be several products I cannot begin to produce until the day prior to or the day of, but I guarantee that these will be the things that people talk about. They will be the thing that people stuff into their purses and eat tomorrow on the way to work. I think that they are magical little bites of sugar. Or as my neice, Julie says, "What's in these...heaven?"

Credit Due

2008-08-21T08:38:00.001-05:00

They really look like they know what they're doing.

Broccoli & Tomatoes doing their thing.

So much green, so little time.... This sucker was hotter than the average

jalapeno.

No instructions necessary for this pole bean plant. It just winds its way up and around the little post. A lot energy in this quiet little spot.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake and other edibles

2008-08-21T08:18:00.001-05:00

A grape vine cookie. For the hell of it.

A little coffee cake for a bleak morning in Northern Michigan. Was really moist and creamy. I sent one over to Lewiston for Bonnie and Robert Hendry. My sister Patti was going for a visit and thought they might like a sweet. Turns out I was right.

Okay, okay, it's not really a piece of cake. I found this rock and it looked like a piece of cake. I painted it and then found a little one that looked like a strawberry. It's damn cute.

Can't Forget About The Blueberries

2008-08-21T08:02:00.001-05:00

I picked blueberries for 3 hours in the woods behind my cottage in Grayling, Michigan. The berries, actually called "huckleberries" (I'll be your huckleberry - Val Kilmer), are real tiny. If you have a case of OCD, consider yourself gifted on the days you pick the berries. I'm not kidding. You could pick for days on this property. I normally can begin the last week of June, but this year they took their time and didn't look ready until the third week of July.

I had so many options for what to do with all these berries. I've done this before and made jam, pancakes, muffins, and of course ate them out of hand. But this year I made a giant blueberry pie. I used a sturdy sweet dough. This pie is heavy. It took nine cups or so of blueberries. I took it to a "Christmas in July" party and it went over well. The little that was left was enjoyed as breakfast, I'm told, by our friends Mona and J.P. in Grayling. He is now back in Iraq, only home for a short time to attend a funeral. I was honored to feed them.

The Garden is My Baby

2008-08-21T06:53:00.001-05:00

You know how some people always have pictures of their kids? They make you look at them and expect you to think they are so cute. I am so weird. I didn't do much of that when my kids were little. If my kids were there in person, sure, I'd expect you to comment about them. But I didn't want to put you in the uncomfortable position of having to pretend like you cared when I pulled out a pic of them in their absence. WELL, times have changed. So has the content of the pictures.

It's ironic that while all this lovely stuff grows in the dirt (manure even), it looks so fresh and clean in the pictures. The colors up against the darkness of the soil is so lovely. And I know that I don't put anything in the garden outside of a fertilizer so those babies are good for eatin'. I do just pick stuff usually while I'm out there weeding (by hand). Even my girl, Natalie has spent hours of her summer weeding and helping out the plants. We consider the weeds to be thieves of our nutritious soil. The birds,too. But who can blame them all for wanting to feast? It is pretty pure stuff.

I love my garden. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for every beautiful thing that is grown in it. I think that everyone should have a garden. To feel gratitude every single day is better than falling in love. I know that this blog is supposed to be about sugar, and I still love that too. However, the magic (I know it's science, but magic more adequately describes the emotional connection) that occurs when the little seed becomes something that nourishes my family and my friends still brings about something childlike and new in me. I wish I could start a neighborhood garden in the areas that need it the most. No one would ever be hungry.

I Think I Need A Peach Tree...and other things

2008-08-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

On my way home from Traverse City, I bought these Michigan grown plums and peaches. Christian was getting frustrated with me because as soon as I walked in the door I just had to take some pictures. I knew that they wouldn't last long on the counter and since I fall in love with beautiful stuff, I really NEEDED to get a picture of them right NOW!!!

The peaches were so ripe that they smelled like a scented candle. The juice would just pour out of them as soon as you touched them. Jeff was driving in to town and took one with him to try on the way. He ended up getting juice on himself and Margaret's car. Sadly, he had to throw some of it out the window because it was just too juicy to eat while driving.

I made the tart below with some almond cream (frangipane) and then the peaches. Normally I would boil them for a minute to loosen the skin but I couldn't chance them getting any softer. I peeled them with a very sharp knife and then quartered them. I put them in a pot with some vanilla sugar, almond extract, a touch of cinnamon and a little bit of butter. I only warmed them and then spooned them out one quarter at a time. I arranged them and topped them with some raspberries. I baked it for about, oh I don't know, until it looked ready. It was tasty. I took some down to The Two Track bar in Grayling and it was enjoyed by some of our friends there. The other one was devoured at the cottage.

It's a berry good start

2008-06-23T12:44:00.000-05:00

The first of many strawberries, I hope. There are ten strawberry plants. We have put in a garden at our cottage in northern Michigan. The season is short and the weather is peculiar. I have had to study up on the particulars of growing anything in that part of the state. This plant is actually 4 weeks further along now and I have put it on a bed of mulch so that the tiny fruit never have to touch the ground. They are picky!!

In my garden, I have also planted the following:
Peppers: red, yellow, orange, jalapeno, banana, poblano
Onions: Green, Leeks, Shallots
Herbs: Basil, Oregano, Cilantro, French Tarragon, Texas Terragon,
Parsley, Thyme, Spearmint
Strawberries, Watermelon, Pumpkin & rhubarb
Carrots, Beets, Broccoli, Cauliflower
Red and Green Cabbage
Tomatoes (5 types) & Beans
Zucchini & Cucumber
Lettuce: 3 types

I just spent the last ten days there tending, weeding and planting additional plants. I would have taken newer pictures but I (oops!) forgot the camera. I will be back there in nine days so there will be pics definitely then.

Having a garden is so hopeful! I recommend it. I also love the idea that I can feed my family even if I can't get to the store. I think I was born a few decades too late. I am thinking I should have been a farmer's wife....

Kids gotta have the sugar

2008-04-07T06:22:00.000-05:00

This has been a week of birthdays...for 6 year olds. I feel like a drug pusher grooming my future customers.

I think it's strange that 6 year olds ike "high School Musical" enough to make it their party theme. I mean, they're 6. You're a teenagers by the time you get to high school. then again, my ninth grader can't stand the movie.

Easter dessert

2008-04-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

I should have just made a carrot cake . I made this dessert for Easter and while everyone liked it, they said it was their least favorite thing I had made recently. Now mind you, they have a lot to choose from. I bake a lot. Their Easter baskets were filled with chocolate bunnies, big & small, that I tempered and molded myself. But, still they tried this and didn't love it. I liked it, but didn't love it either.

It consisted of a lemon cake (very thin) topped with a white chocolate pyramid filled with white chocolate mousse and raspberry coulis. It had a drizzle of the coulis, whipped cream and a bit of peah champagne sorbet. I thought it was beautiful and was glad I played around with it. They just don't like the plated desserts, I have come to realize. Throw some ice cream in a bowl and they are happy.

2008-03-13T14:10:00.000-05:00

Take your pick...dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate coconut nests, topped with jelly beans. I have had these in my easter basket every year of my life. We started out getting them from Master's Chocolates in Detroit. They closed many years ago and we had to seek them out or attempt making them. My sister Patti made them for a few years, but I didn't always live near her. Some shops make little, teeny sad excuses for nests and charged too too much for them. After I went to The French Pastry School a few years ago, I decided to make them for myself.

I made them for the folks I worked with at Le Francais prior to leaving (it was the week of Easter) and they couldn't figure out what they were. I realized that many of them were not of the Christian faith and didn't ever have an easter basket. However, they loved them and I have been making them for customers for two years. They are a big seller. And I don't charge a fortune.

I also upgraded my chocolate this year. I used to use a real nice, high quality chocolate and it was fantastic. However, after taking a class with Norman Love, of Norman Love's Chocolates in Florida, I decided to use Felchlin chcocolate which is incredible and a definite step up in the world of chocolate. It is smoooooth and deep tasting. I am really happy with it.

I bake the coconut, not to toast it, only to dry it. Then I temper the chocolate and blend them together. I form the nests and add the jelly beans. I package them up and tie them with a bow. They are adorable and yummy.

In the Kitchen with my Girl

2008-02-18T17:47:00.001-06:00

Emma made her first batch of chocolate chunk cookies. She started off by marveling at the giant bar of chocolate I was cutting chunks off of and proceeded to sneak many chunks. Quality control, I guess. She made some kick ass white chocolate/milk chocolate chunk cookies. Her she is giving a thumbs up to her first batch!

Congratulations! It's a Tart!

2008-02-11T08:29:00.000-06:00

I had such a nice time making this tart. It was beautiful every step of the way. I love to roll the dough and fit it into the ring. I love to mix the filling, slice the apples, brush on the butter, sprinkle the vanilla sugar and then glaze with the cinnamon caramel when it's still hot. Here is summer and fall all in a tart. It smells fresh, rich, homey and inviting. This is the mama tart and below you will see the babies.

I fall in love with my baked goods. I really do. They are like a good secret, safe to share, doesn't hurt anyone, makes everyone smile.