Product Love: Kikkerland

It has been a while since I declared I was going write a "Product Love" post once or twice a month. I've been meaning to write. Really! Anyhoo, here it is my "Product Love" post:

While in NYC three weeks ago my husband and I were walking about when, mid-conversation, I dashed across a street and into an Anthropologie. That store has a magnetic pulse that pulls me in whenever I'm near one. The sad thing is that I never really splurge on myself. Let's face it, Anthropologie isn't cheap. It isn't super expensive either, but to shop there is a little luxury. Well, my trip to NYC was all about splurging, so what do I buy? A timer! Yup. That's me. I buy a timer, but a very cool timer.

This is a Kikkerland timer, which comes in red, like the one I bought or in yellow, white, light blue or black. I love the style, which is retro/industrial. I has a super strong magnet on the back which enables me to hang it on my fridge or on any other metallic surface. As the hand moves around the timer there is no loud ticking, which is very nice. However, the ring isn't too loud. So, if I'm in the opposite part of the house I use my hold "time bomb" timer since my neighbors can probably hear it. When I'm in the kitchen I use my new favorite Kikkerland timer.

Whoopie Pies, Brownies and A Review

I'm skipping "Herb It Up Monday" today because I have got to get to that review of Maze, Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, but before I do that let me just mention a couple things:

1. I have tried out my new camera. And, all I have to say is "Whoopie!!!". I took two photos with my Sony Cybershot and they both came out clear. Normally this would take at least 25 shots on crappy camera. I took the photos of two of the items I made for a bake sale: Whoopie Pies and Brownies. I saved a few of each for my men. I will gladly post those recipes tomorrow if you are interested.


2. My Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Team and I had a bake sale this past weekend and it was a huge success. We made $424, split 4 ways. As I've mentioned, we each have to raise $1800. Its daunting, but despite these hard economic times people were beyond generous. I was touched by the generosity of all walks of people who told us to "keep the change". But mostly, I was touched by the number of women who walked by and told their story. "I'm a survivor." or "My sister died from breast cancer." It was a long, exhausting day, but one that left me feeling charged. Oh, and since we were so engrossed in breast cancer discussions, my friend accidentally labeled the banana bread as "Banana Breast". Hmmm....maybe we should call our Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner the "Spaghetti and Boobs Dinner". (Interested in donating? Click here.)

OK, so on to the really good stuff. I've been promising to talk about my experience at Maze, Gordon Ramsay's casual dining experience at The London in NYC. It is probably best if I start at the beginning:

My husband and I walked in and were immediately greeted by the hostess, who sat us promptly and was very cordial. After we were seated Server #1 asked what kind of water we'd like. "Is this a trick question?" Tap, Sparkling, Ice Water. I'm not sure, but there may have been another choice. Hmmm...NYC tap water. I think I'll pass. Even under Chef Ramsay's scrutiny, I'd not take my chances there.

We were given a wine menu by the sommelier. We decided on a bottle of Rosé, which was $50 and probably considered the dish-water of that menu as there were bottles of wine which cost in the thousands. One in particular was $11,000. But, true to Chef Ramsay's desire to provide a good dining experience no matter what is chosen from the menu the $50 bottle of Rosé was wonderful to our novice palates.

Next, the waiter, who was dressed in a business suit, explained the menu. He was dressed, according to my husband, in a better suit than his own. A little tangent here: The waiter was clearly a metro sexual and my husband is a Marine. My Marine looks fit and trim and sharp in anything he wears. It was funny that my husband said that he didn't look like he fit in with the crowd. I said, "What do you think gave it away? Your high and tight haircut or the fact that the word 'Marine' is practically etched in your chiseled face?"

Back to the menu. We decided to go with the Chef's menu, which varied from what is currently listed on the website. We made that decision so that we could taste as much as possible. For our first course we enjoyed a lobster bisque that was marvelously smooth. The presentation was what one expects when you eat at Chef Ramsay's restaurant. (I was going to take notes about the meal, but I thought it would have dampened the whole experience. So, I don't recall the components of each dish. My memory only worsened as I drank more wine.)

The second course was venison carpaccio. Now, as you well know, carpaccio is raw meat. I've been a practicing vegetarian for a year. I've fallen off the wagon a few times and this was one of them. I forced myself to get over the raw meat factor and enjoy the experience to the fullest. And, let me tell you this. I had no idea I was eating carpaccio. It was a flavor explosion ala Ratatouille. And, again, the presentation was impeccable.

The third course was sautéed sea scallops. Cooked to perfection and very light. Presentation wise, this was probably the least eye catching.

Let me take a moment to tell you that the courses arrived about 20-25 minutes apart and the entire time the staff was attentive. The sommelier made sure our glasses remained appropriately full. Server #1 refilled water glasses, served the bread and cleared the dishes. (I guess you could say he was a bus boy, but so much classier.) And, our waiter was amazingly helpful with our questions without being condescending. There wasn't a hint of snobbery, which was something that had concerned us.

The fourth course was a fillet of beef that absolutely melted in your mouth like butter. It made me want to throw out all my vegetables and become a meatatarian. My husband and I looked at each other, knowing we wanted to inhale this course, but we took our time, savoring every bite. Presentation? What presentation? I was too busy savoring each morsal to give it a thought. It could have been served on a bread charger from the 1500's and it wouldn't have mattered.

Finally, the fifth course, the one I'd been waiting for and I was becoming dangerously full! We had the Valrhona chocolate fondant with the sea salt and caramel ice cream. What do I need to say about Valrhona fondant? It speaks for itself. Now, the ice cream, well, here is my only critique: It had a bit too much salt. I had a hard time enjoying the caramel which was fighting to get in front of the salt. Nevertheless, the ice cream was smooth and creamy and still a perfect match for the fondant. A comment about the coffee and attention to detail: the creamer was warmed! It is a pet peeve of my husbands that when adding creamer the temperature of the coffee is altered. We were delighted when we felt the warmth of the creamer pitcher.

Our waiter, being ever attentive, overheard us talking about our 15th wedding anniversary. He surprised us with a beautifully simple plate that had "congratulations" written on it in chocolate, a scoop of strawberry sorbet and a candle inserted in the sorbet. It was a perfect ending to a perfect meal.

Kouign Amans

I still haven't had time to read the manual for my new camera and, for once in my life, I'm determined to read the manual before I use it, not after I get myself into trouble and need help to figure out what I did wrong. Maybe the reading will get done when I'm at a swim meet this weekend. So, this photo is from crappy camera, which is suffering from a slow death. I mention this because the kouign amans looked so buttery, so melt-in-your-mouth yummy that the photo doesn't do justice.

As I've written in an older post, I've been baking like a mad women. I've been sending all baked items to work with my husband so that he could do a little fundraising for me since I'm doing the Avon Walk. The first week I went heavy on the cookies. My Marine said that some breakfast items would be good, too. Since I loathe making muffins, which has absolutely no logical reasoning other than I hate cleaning the muffin pans (even when they are lined), I decided that I needed to bake a variety of items. I made muffins, but also, I made coffee cakes, Madeleines, cookies and kouign amans.

The kouign amans were a first for me. But, I saw the recipe and thought, "What better than buttery, flaky, sugary kouign amans with a hot cup of "Joe"?" I had a hard time keeping them out of the mouths of the men in the house. I kept yelling, "You're eating my profits!" I have to admit, I had a hard time resisting as well. They really are sinfully good.

I highly recommend you try making these. You'll need two days if you don't want to make yourself nuts, but the recipe is beyond easy and the rewards are great. The recipe I used came from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Confession: Martha is my go-to for recipes. If I'm trying something new and I can find it in her book I use it. I have not had one bad experience with the recipes. If there is anything that makes me nuts is when I put the time, effort and ingredients into something new, only to see it fail because the recipe is lacking. I have never had that happen with Martha's book.

A side note: I'll be writing my review of Gordon Ramsay's Maze soon. I have so much to say! I don't know where to begin.

Herb It Up Monday: Tamarind (Not Really an Herb)

When we lived in the Mohave Desert for 5 years I used to love to listen to the wind blow through the Tamarind trees. Some found the sound eerie, but I found it replaced the comforting sound of rain, which I missed terribly. While listening to the wind in the trees I had no idea that tamarind could be used for culinary purposes.

Photos found on Wikipedia.

Tamarind has a distant relationship to Carob. The tamarind is native to tropical Africa. At some point, it was brought to India, but that was so long ago that most think of it as native to India. During the sixteenth century, it was introduced into America and today is widely grown in Mexico.

Tamarinds are slow-growing, long-lived, evergreen trees that under best conditions can grow 80 feet high. However, in Southern California it seldom reaches more than 15 to 25 ft. in height. The tamarinds in my part of California were much larger even though we were in the desert and not in optimum conditions. I attribute this to the fact that we had a "long green line", going miles, that had rich foliage due to the fact that the "line" was a fault line. Yes, I lived next to a fault line. The fun never ends with the military.

According to Wikipedia, which has most of the same information as other sources I've read: "the fruit pulp from the Tamarind is edible. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is sour and acidic and is often used as a component of savory dishes. The ripened fruit is less sour and somewhat sweeter. It is used in desserts and sweetened drinks, or as a snack. In Thailand, there is a carefully cultivated sweet variety with little to no tartness grown specifically to be eaten as a fresh fruit. They also eat it preserved in sugar sometimes with chili as a candy.It is used in both Asian and Latin American cuisines and is also an important ingredient in Imli Chutney, a spicy North Indian condiment; Pulusu, a sauce from Andhra Pradesh, India; Worcestershire sauce; HP sauce; and the Jamaican-produced Pickapeppa sauce.

Tamarind is used extensively in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh cuisines, where it is used to prepare Rasam, Sambhar, Puliyogare and Vatha Kuzhambu. It is also used in various types of chutneys as a flavouring agent. The tender pods and flowers are also pickled and used as a side dish."

As for medicinal properties, tamarind has many. (Again, I'm not a doctor, so please seek out a holistic practitioner before using tamarind.) Tamarind is considered a mild laxative and digestive. It is used to treat bronchial disorders and gargling with tamarind water is recommended for a sore throat. It is antiseptic, used in eye-baths and for the treatment of ulcers. It is highly acidic and therefore good for fighting fevers.

If you want to try tamarind I suggest reading an article I found on Thai Food and Travel. It has a lot of good information. If you are looking to buy tamarind it can be purchased in most Mexican grocery stores, Asian and Indian markets as well as health food stores.

Stand by: in the next day or two I'll have a review of my Maze dining experience and my first product for "product" love. Maybe I'll have a chance to actually read my camera manual and take a photo or two of all the baked goods I've been making for the Avon Walk bake sale.

Birthday, Anniversary and Lots of Baking

I've been such a bad blogger of late. What have I been doing? Well, I've been working on a few fundraisers for the Avon Walk: shopping and cooking for a spaghetti dinner, "writing" a recipe book to sell, baking massive amounts of cookies and muffins for my husband to sell at work.

I recieved, for my 40th (gasp) birthday this past week, a Sony Cybershot. My dear husband bought me the camera, but I have been baking like a mad woman so I have not had time to even take a photo with my old camera much less read the manual for the new one.

What have I been baking? Well, it seems Marines like sweets: cinnamon sugar muffins (seem to be popular), brown sugar cookies with white chocolate chips, chocolate sandwich cookies (aka homemade oreos), peanut butter sandwich cookies, ginger cookies, cheesecake cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies. That's just to name a few items on the baking list! I'm lucky I have a supportive family and a lot of hungry Marines to give so charitably to the cause.

Now, for the big event, as if turning the big 4-0 isn't enough. It is my 15th wedding anniversary this week. My husband and I are squeezing in a quick trip to NYC tomorrow. My wonderful Marine made reservations at Maze, by Gordon Ramsay, at The London!! WoooHooo!!! We are staying at a lovely hotel as well. I'm thrilled.





I think I should be up to speed next week, back on track with Herb It Up Monday and photos of all the items I've been baking. I hope (read "hope" as have the best of intentions, but who knows what is going to pop up on the schedule) to throw in a few extra articles; product love and a focus on a fabulous blog. And, of course, my personal review of Maze!

The "Pats" Continued: Paté Feuillette

Just prior to the ten days of flu (BF: Before Flu), I taught the boys how to make pâte feuilletée. It was the last of the "Pats" as the boys call them. I've taught them how to make pâte brisée, pâte à choux and finally, the most challenging, pâte feuilletée.

It took us a few days to make. The key to baking with the young people is to break up long projects so that they don't become impatient and bored. With the nature of pâte feuilletée and the amount of chilling the dough needs between folding I figured that taking about 4-5 days to make the dough would work out well. And, it did! The boys did a bang up job and the dough came out magnificent! The final product: Napoleons. The boys' "text book" for baking has been Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. We used her recipe for the pâte feuilletée and for the Napoleons.

This photo is out of sequence, but I had to add it. Baker #1 aka, The Swimmer, was concentrating so hard. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me on this day, Baker #2, The Keeper, was suffering from the first day of the flu. He was laying on the couch with a fever.

The bakers are measuring so that each folding be as precise as possible. I can tell by the smirk on my Swimmer's face that he'd like to bop his brother with that rolling pin.



The "package". Calling the dough, "the package", earned coolness points. It sounded very 007ish.


More rolling and measuring.


The boys didn't roll the dough quite as thin as it should have been for the Napolean layers, but it still looked fantastic. I told them to keep rolling, but I think, after 5 days of working with the dough they fizzled. They were disappointed in the thickness, but it proved a point: follow through to the end.



Despite it's think layers, it was flakey and delicious..so buttery!