I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

Hello Everyone,

I had a wonderful time with all of you at our last meeting. Between the macaroons, videos, and chocolate orange sabayon the time went by very fast. I am sorry if you felt we did not talk about the book for an adequate amount of time. The videos I choose to show from Gesine's website took up the time we normally spend discussing amongst ourselves. I felt the videos would be great additive for your overall experience.

Nevertheless, its time for a new month and a new book. Here is the link to Guila Melucci's website. Unfortunately, she does not keep an extensive blog like some of our past authors, but her website has some fun extras, like a playlist to go with the book. I also found a book trailer on youtube so that should be fun to check out.

Stay tuned! :)

Delectable Cooking Demonstration!

Happy Monday,

I am sorry I am a bit late on posting the cooking demonstration, but at least I have all of you poised and anxious :)

After reading a book like My Life From Scratch it is only fitting we have a decadent cooking demonstration. I can say without a doubt, that Doug will definitely be delivering a cooking demonstration worthy of a master baker.

This months cooking demonstration is especially unique because one of our members inspired it. Doug found inspiration from Emily's Secret Santa gift. Emily gave Doug a chocolate orange and the goodness and flavor of chocolate/orange lingered with him that he wanted to incorporate these flavors into our demonstration. Doug will be showing a technique in which you cut the orange so all of the pulp is gone and the only thing remaining is the sweetness of the orange. The orange will be garnished with chocolate shavings. Then (oh yes it does it better) a sweet custard/cream will be poured over the orange and chocolate. The cream/custard is called sabayon. Sabayon is made in region all over Europe. The type of alcohol used dictates the where it is from. For this demonstration Doug was fairly certain he would use a sparking wine. But wait there's more! Doug will then brulee the orange chocolate sabayon. If your mouth is not watering at this point then you should get you taste buds checked :)

See you Wednesday at 6:30pm. Bring your sweet tooth!

Pal Do World This Saturday

We will be meeting at Pal Do World at 4pm this Saturday the 22nd. The plan is to spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour walking through the store. Then we could eat dinner together while we are there! Doug recommended the Tacoma Szechaun or the tofu/korean BBG place :) We will definitely getting the full diverse experience!

The address of Pal Do World is:

9601 South Tacoma Way

Lakewood, WA 98499

(253) 581-7800

We thought it is best to meet right inside in front of the Boulangerie Bakery & Cafe.

I am very excited for our field trip! Almost every single one of us will be coming so it will be a great way to get to know each other better as well.

Anch-Cumin Encrusted Pork Loin

Ancho-Cumin Encrusted Pork Loin

(based on a dry spice rub recipe of CMC Ken Arnone)

 

Dried Ancho Chilies, seeded, stemmed             2 ea.

Cumin seeds                                                    1 Tbsp

Coriander seeds                                              1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds                                                 2 tsp

Black peppercorns                                           2 tsp

Dried thyme leaves                                           2 tsp

Kosher salt                                                      2 ½ Tbsp

Onion powder                                                 1 tsp

Garlic powder                                                 1 tsp

Canola oil 1 cup

Pork Loin Roast                                              2-5lbs.

1- Mix together the ancho chilies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns, and cook on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven until toasted. Let cool completely.

2- In a spice grinder, add chili/seed mix to the thyme leaves, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Grind together into a fine powder.

3- Combine the fine powder with the canola oil and mix well.

4- Rub entire roast with the oil/ spice blend. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 320 degrees.

5- Sear all sides of the exterior of the roast in a frying pan. Note, the spice mixture will blacken. This is ok.

6- Finish cooking the roast in the preheated oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees at the center. Allow to rest for a full 12 minutes before slicing.



Lindsay's Version of Golden Eggs

Happy Monday!

While most of the Pacific Northwest was glued to the television watching the Seahawks game, I was happily avoiding all the yelling and screaming. Instead of wearing blue and green colors, I instead was covered in flour, batter, and sugar :) I tried my hand at making Gesine's Golden Eggs from her book My Life from Scratch (Page 12). They turned out to be as delicious and yummy as she describes. I would highly recommend this recipe. It is simple, no special ingredients required, and produces a delicious end product that will leave everyone exclaiming, "what is this!"

For this occasion I bought a mini cupcake mold so a few of them are smaller and pleasantly bite sized. After two or three batches of the mini cupcakes I realized I could be at this all afternoon, so I also made some in a muffin mold. Both are equally delicious, although I personally prefer mini cupcake size.

Cherry Tomato Chutney

Cherry Tomato Chutney


Cherry Tomatoes, halved                                                         2 cups
Sweet White or Yellow Onion, minced                                     2 Tbsp
Fresh Oregano leaves, chopped                                               1 ½ Tbsp
Olive Oil                                                                                  2 Tbsp
Balsamic Vinegar                                                                     1 ½ Tbsp
White Sugar                                                                            1 ½ tsp
Salt                                                                                         As Needed
Black Pepper                                                                          As Needed
1 Toss all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, and let stand for 10 minutes before use.

Macaroons!

TGIF!

I visited Gesine's website and found out you can order her macaroons! I think it would be really awesome and unique if we ordered some to eat at our meeting-because. Out of curiosity I looked to see how much 30 assorted macaroons delivered to Tacoma would be-$34. If we all contributed it would be very reasonable price. Of course whatever Doug will be demonstrating will be delicious, but I thought this could be a fun unique thing to try. Please let me know if you are interested! The more people who are interested the cheaper it would end up being for you individually :)))))

Golden Eggs in January

Hello Everyone,

I had the wonderful experience of starting My Life from Scratch today! Although I have only read 30 pages, I can tell I am going to love this book. I am a baker at heart so I am thrilled to try all these delicious recipes. Which is why I felt moved, no compelled, to post a video of Gesine demonstrating how to make Golden Eggs (Page 12). I am seriously contemplating making them this weekend! If I do I will be sure to post pictures next week.

Have any recipes jumped out to you? Will you be trying any recipes before our meeting? If you do, please be sure to share your experience with us here :)

Updated Flyer

Happy Monday!

I have update our flyer for January, February, and March. It includes the title change for January as well as the date change in March. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am excited to start a new year with all of you. Here is to reading and delicious food!