Soufflés

Today in class we made soufflés, which were a little tricky but turned out well.  

The only problem is you have to eat them RIGHT away so they don't store well at all.  

This was a cheese and chive one, which was super sharp and smoky because of the gouda but pretty great.  

This was a classic chocolate soufflé which is never my favorite dessert, surprisingly, but it turned out well.  We poured creme anglaise over it which was delicious. 

Pastry Class: Cheesecakes

Week Seven of Pro Pastry I was all about Cheesecakes.  This was a little intimidating at first, but it was super fun and not too hard at all.  First we made our own graham crackers to use for the crusts of the cake.  Who knew this flavor comes from using molases?

Passion Fruit Cheesecake

You could use almost any flavor inside the cheesecake, you just have to be careful about how you incorporate it.  Using the passion fruit puree was very easy, just mixed in about 3 teaspoons and it really brightened up the cake. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

This flavor was a little trickier since it's so dense.  I had to fold it in to a portion of the batter first, and then swirl that into the remainder of the batter. It was good but made the texture of the cake a little tougher, more like a fudge. 

For the Ricotta Cheesecakes we made our own Ricotta cheese which was also really easy.  It's just milk, cream and lemon juice! 

I really liked how these turned out, they are much lighter than the cream cheese version.  These mini cups also are the perfect portion.

I added some left over chocolate ganache, I couldn't resist...

For Recipes Check Out: The Gourmandise School

Holiday Party

Last weekend my roommates and I held our second annual holiday party, where I overdecorated our tree with Candy Land themed ornaments.

Gingerbread Village

Cozy Decorations

Candy from Dylan's

Champagne with Pomegranate Seeds

Savory Table 

Caprese Skewers

Sweet Table

Snowflake Sugar Cookies 

Funfetti Cupcakes

Peppermint Oreo Balls

Of course we had way to much food, and so many left overs, but it was so hard to limit ourselves we got excited!  Everything turned out great and I can't wait to do it again next year.  

Happy Holidays!

Taste of Beverly Hills: Secrets From The Kitchen

Here we go again! The Taste of Beverly Hills event is by far the most exciting weekend of my year, so I was thrilled to be able to attend again. I didn't eat too much today as I sat in on two amazing live cooking demos by some of the cutest Food Network stars. Luckily, there's still two more days ahead!

{Click Images to Enlarge}


Agave Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Topped with Figs from Tender Greens


A modern twist on Bruschetta from Nonna of Italy


Ricotta and Spinach Raviolli in a Butter Sage Sauce from Nonna of Italy


Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho from Nappa Valley Grille


Various Chocolates from Green & Black's Worldwide Chocolate


Bean Salad from Craft


Duck Crostini and Bean Salad from Momed


Claire Robinson making Oatmeal Date Scones and Date Butter


A bite of Claire's scone & butter


Me and Claire!


Aarti Sequeira making Saag Paneer


Me and Aarti!

The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English

I don't know where to start, and have too much to say about this, so I'll leave it to the photos, but this new Food Hall by Todd English may have just saved The Plaza. I was beyond impressed and excited upon seeing this, and so sad I no longer live upstairs. Not only is there an amazing bakery section with goodies such as cakes, chocolates, and macaroons, but there is a cheese section, a pizza bar, a sushi bar, a dumpling bar among many other sections. It is incredible!

(Click On The Pictures To See Full Size)

Seafood Bar

Fresh Produce

Wine Bar

Cheese Bar

Pizza Bar

Dessert Bar

Curly Cakes Cupcakes

Todd English Chocolate Bars

Candy Bar

Candies

Pantry of Goods

My real live Eloise, and tour guide, Chloe

Say Cheese!

I know this is not a dessert related topic...but I had to share this. Last weekend I went to the Grilled Cheese Invitational, which was basically a big cheese festival!


There was a grilled cheese competition, a bunch of grilled cheese trucks, and best of all, free samples!! We chose The Grilled Cheese Truck and the sandwiches we got were totally worth the long lines. The TBM one below was maybe the best sandwich I've ever had, seriously.


Tomato Basil Mozzeralla Grilled Cheese


Brie and Pear Grilled Cheese on Raisin Bread


Some people really like their cheese...