…from the Perspectives’' Kitchen![]() How you doin’? What? Mayonnaise in chocolate cake? You’ve got to be kidding! No kidding, mayonnaise is exactly what your cake has been missing all along. Made from eggs and oil (which are standard cake ingredients) mayonnaise will boost the moisture level in a cake recipe when added to the batter. It can even gussy up a boxed cake mix enough to taste homemade. While adding mayonnaise to dessert may sound odd, apparently this is an old-timey baking trick. The Kitchn traces mayonnaise in cakes back to World War II or the Great Depression when food scarcity forced cooks craving sweets to get creative. To try it, simply stir in a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise to boxed cake batter for rich flavor. Mix in a whole cup of mayonnaise to really up the decadence. By adding mayonnaise, the texture of the cake is transformed, becoming luscious and extra-moist. Mayonnaise will become your secret cake ingredient. According to Serious Eats, the mayonnaise addition works especially well with chocolate cakes, which can easily become dense. The extra oil adds tenderness to the cake crumb and the vinegar (or lemon juice) found in mayonnaise actually works to enhance the flavor. The acidity offsets the sweetness and makes the chocolate flavor stand out. Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 45 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Yield: 9 x 13-inch cake (18 reasonable servings) Ingredients 2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter (to prep the pan) 2 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder (to coat the pan) 1-2/3 cups granulated sugar 3 large eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon orange extract 1 cup mayonnaise 4 ounces melted semisweet chocolate 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1-1/3 cups water 1 tablespoon cold coffee 1 tablespoon orange zest Your favorite frosting or glaze Directions
ChefSecrets: The frosting versus icing battle has been going on for years. Though it may seem the choice to say that you want cake with frosting or cake with icing is similar, the truth is frosting and icing just aren't the same thing, no matter how you look at it. Briefly, frosting is most identifiable by its thick and fluffy consistency. Because frosting holds its shape and is opaque in color, you'll see it often used and called for when you are decorating cakes and cupcakes. Unlike frosting, icing is thinner, glossier and flows more due to its consistency. It's great for drizzling. Icing doesn't hold its shape like frosting and is regularly used in decorating as an accent to its frosting counterpart (a drizzle on top of a layer of frosting, for example). It is also used as the sole decoration or coating for pastries or donuts. Got it? Quip of the Day: “In case you never thought about it, “bakers make the world smell better.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Baking #Dessert #OrangeChocolateMayonnaiseCake #Mayonnaise #MoistCake #Chocolate #OrangeZest #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
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…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen![]() How you doin’? One of my favorite Italian appetizers are double-breaded deep-fried mozzarella sticks but sometimes even perfection needs a little refresher. So, here’s my modern makeover on mozzarella sticks. Fried Mozzarella Puffs are a cross between Café du Monde Beignets and Rao’s Mozzarella Sticks. No breading is required. They are easier, crispier and cuter than ordinary cheesy sticks. How do make these, you ask? It begins with choux pastry (cream puff pastry dough). Make a kind of roux by combining butter, flour, and water together in a pan until it clumps into a smooth dough, then incorporate egg and seasonings once it’s cooled down a bit. While the fridge works its magic on the dough, season up the jarred marinara sauce of your choice. All that’s left is to incorporate the mozzarella cheese into the cooled dough. Now just scoop it out and drop the cheese balls into the fryer. You’re never going to dip another cheese stick again. Prep time: 20 minutes Chill time: 60 minutes Fry time: 15 minutes Yield: 12 puffs Ingredients 1/3 cup water 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 large egg 1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 cup marinara sauce, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 4 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese 4 cups canola oil for frying 1 anchovy fillet Directions
Quip of the Day: “What do you call a row of people lifting mozzarella—a cheesy pick-up line.” Let’s hear the rim shot... bud-dum! ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Appetizers #FriedMozzarellaPuffs #Mozzarella #ChouxDough #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 Cooking Lesson #616: Belli Croccanti--Amaretti—Italian Crispy and Delicious Almond Cookies5/15/2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen![]() How you doin’? Joan’s sister, Annie, was visiting from London recently. She always brings interesting books as well as something wonderful to eat. This time she gifted us with Hazelnut Croccanti, a nut and egg white meringue biscuit and chocolate hazelnut truffles. I prefer almonds to hazelnuts so here is a change-up in the recipe. If you try my Amaretti, or bitter almond cookies, one time, you’ll never want any other versions or, maybe even any other cookies! Belli Croccanti are easy to make. These delightful treats are common and loved all over Italy and in many local areas in the US. These cookies come in several versions—crispy, soft, chewy or sugar-coated, but one thing they have in common is that they all melt quickly in your mouth. Their intense taste comes from the almonds since there are just three ingredients: almonds, sugar and egg whites. Although the traditional recipe calls for the same quantity of sweet and bitter almonds, in my recipe, I will only use what we call “sweet” almonds because bitter almonds are hard to come by outside of Italy. I had to substitute almond extract for the bitter almonds because it is made from bitter almonds. The taste of this cookie is unique because it’s a blend of bitter and sweet at the same time. My recipe as in the classic recipe, they do not contain any gluten, so they are suitable for people following a gluten-free diet. These homemade delights are perfectly paired with a good cup of coffee or a wonderful cup of tea. Store the uneaten cookies in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days so that they don’t get moist. You can also crumble and add them to sweet puddings, cooked fruit, ice cream, yogurt or fresh fruit salad. Prep: Time 10 minutes Cook: Time 30 minutes Total: Time 40 minutes Yield: 30 cookies Ingredients 3/4 cup ground almonds (skins removed) 1 cup of fine granulated sugar 4 large eggs whites 1 teaspoon almond extract Directions
ChefSecret: If the cookie paste (batter) turns out to be too solid and dry, add another firmly beaten egg white to the paste. Almond flour may make amaretti too dry, so use whole, skin-off almonds instead. Quip of the Day: What do you call a crude drawing of a laughing cookie? A snicker-doodle, of course. -------------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. -------------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Baking #Dessert BelliCroccanti #Amaretti # Almonds #EggWhites #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 … from the Perspectives’ Kitchen ![]() How you doin’? There is something about the magic of food in Italy that somehow makes everything tastes better. This is a recipe for Cherry Pound Cake that puts the fruit as the feature of this old family tradition. With a combination of cherries, vanilla and almonds it makes this simple cake perfect for any occasion. What could go wrong? If cherries are out of season substitute with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or cranberries. I’ve been known to add in a 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks—you can’t go wrong with chocolate chips! Prep time: 25 minutes Bake time: 65 to 80 minutes Cool time: 30 to 45 minutes Yield: 6 to 8 servings Ingredients 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon (for almonds) 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup Greek yogurt (full fat) 3 large eggs (room temperature) 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1-1/4 teaspoons almond extract 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons, divided 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 2-1/2 heaping cups fresh cherries, pitted (see ChefSecret) 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, for dusting Directions
ChefSecret: Frozen cherries can be used in place of fresh. Thaw completely, squeeze in a kitchen towel to drain any excess liquid and toss in flour before adding to the batter. If using a metal loaf pan, double pan it. Quip of the Day: “If you can’t think of a word say I forgot the English word for it. That way people will think you’re bilingual instead of an idiot.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Baking #SicilianCiliegiaCake #ItalianCherryPoundCake #Cherries #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen ![]() How you doin’? There is a new French bakery and café that opened just down the street from where I live. The ladies who own the place are from Lyon. They barely speak English but have wonderful genuine French recipes. Their French almond cream is to die for. I can tell you conversing with them strains my high school French, but I was able to capture this recipe for saving stale bread—it’s called a Bostock. It is a non-discriminating recipe, whether you bake bread from scratch or source from local bakeries or the grocery store. It’s short of amazing how quickly last night’s leftover stale bread which was destined for bread crumbs and croutons is turned into something that puts French Toast for breakfast to shame. Yes, even those sad, day-old croissants that lost their flaky texture can be converted into something magnificent even, better than the original. Leave it to the French to figure out how to take a breadstuff past its prime and elevate it to cult status. Likely originating in bakeries trying to get rid of second-day stale bread, this process of adding a sugar syrup and re-baking with an almond cream topping is a genius way to make almost any stale baked bread rise to perfection again! While traditionally made with thick slabs of bread like sweet brioche, the technique can be used with great success with almost any plain or sweet bread. Ingredients 4 thick slices of stale bread 1 cup granulated sugar 2 cups water 7 ounces almond paste (not marzipan) 2 large eggs 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds Sliced fruit (optional) 1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar (optional) Directions
ChefSecret: If you have a lot of bread left, prepped Bostock can be frozen uncovered in a single layer on a sheet pan and then stashed in freezer bags. Bake straight from frozen, increasing the baking time by a couple of minutes. Any leftover baked Bostock is a great addition to bread pudding. Quip of the Day: Baking is cheaper than therapy. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Baking #SweetAlmondBostock #Almonds #Bostock #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
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