A cream pie is usually a pie with a custard or pudding base that is topped off with a lot of whipped cream. In the case of banana cream pie, the standard recipe has vanilla pudding covering a layer of fresh banana slices – and whipped cream on top, of course. The …
What are figs?
For a long time, figs were a very mysterious fruit to me – and I’m sure they were to many others who did not see them regularly. Although many people in my area had fig trees, I rarely saw anyone harvesting or eating the fruit when I was growing up, so the …
Zyliss Soft Skin Peeler
I don’t always peel fruits with thin, soft skins, such as peaches or plums, when I bake with them. This is because the skins usually become even more tender during baking, so you never notice them when you’re eating the finished product. It’s also because peeling these types of …
How to make chocolate dessert cups
How many times have you ordered a dessert in a fancy restaurant and received it neatly tucked inside of a ring of chocolate? Chocolate is not only a great ingredient when it comes to flavor, but it’s great to work with when it comes to presentation, as well. One of the easiest …
Crunchy Baked Pork Chops
The Cook’s Illustrated Magazine is a great read, since it really goes into detail about how the cooks in America’s Test Kitchen came up with each recipe. The only problem I have is that their idea of a “perfect” recipe isn’t always in line with mine – but when they are, they …
Bites from other Blogs
- When it comes to candy, turtles are usually a combination of pecans, caramel and chocolate. Bake List really improves on the basic recipe with Brown Butter Turtle Bars with Macadamia Nuts. These bars, inspired by a bakery in NYC, include both pecans and macadamia nuts in a rich caramel …
ChefStack Pancake Machine
The ChefStack Pancake Machine isn’t designed for home cooks, but it’s such an interesting gadget I can’t resist mentioning it. The clever machine makes pancakes without any human intervention and can turn out up to 200 pancakes an hour. Since it takes a few minutes to cook a homemade pancake after whipping …
What is an offset spatula?
Spatulas are great for a variety of kitchen tasks, from scraping the last bit of batter out of a mixing bowl to gently stirring some scrambled eggs in a nonstick pan. Spatulas can be made from a variety of materials, but your average spatula seems to be made from silicone more often …