If you have been out to eat at least once in the last few years, you have likely seen Brown Butter something on the menu. Savoury and sweet chefs' love this ingredient for the nutty, complex flavour it adds to their dishes. There is good reason for chefs' obsession with Brown Butter…it is delicious!! Beurre Noisette (that is just the fancy French work for Brown Butter) is simply unsalted butter that is cooked to the point that the milk solids in the butter begin to cook and caramelize giving your butter a nutty flavour.
Why I do I love making homemade ice-cream? Let me count the ways: 1) It is not as sweet as most commercial ice-cream, 2) I can get creative and make the perfect flavour for my dessert, 3) It has no artificial “junk” in it, 4) it is rich and creamy and has a pure flavour. There, have I convinced you?
Deep-Fried Jello, Crispy Chicken Feet on a Stick and Canadian Bacon Pickle Balls all sound interesting, but nothing really lives up to those mini doughnuts…warm from the fryer and sprinkled in cinnamon sugar. But Stampede is still more than six weeks away and I am not inclined to deep-fry this afternoon, so luckily I have a recipe for doughnut muffins that does a very good impression of this Stampede favourite.
Shortbread is basically butter held together with some starch. Here I use both flour and cornstarch. The cornstarch gives it the delicate crumb...that is pastry jargon for melt in your mouth!
Originally, chocolate cake was not in the running, because the groom thought it was too ordinary. But after tasting the chocolate cake he realized it was anything but boring! This cake recipe came from one of my Chef Instructors at SAIT and it really is the best chocolate cake out there!
Flavoured popcorn is an awesome party food. It is simple to make, can be made ahead and can be sweet or savoury. I almost always make a bowl or two of flavoured popcorn for my cocktails parties.
An ice-cream party is a versatile theme. It can be customized to make anyone happy, from kids to adults, and it can be as little or as much work as you want. If you are like me, you can go overboard and make everything yourself or you can purchase everything so all you have to do is lay it out!
We had some extra tart dough and apples, so we quickly whipped up some galettes. Both desserts were delicious, but when my class saw how simple it was to form the galette, that you don’t need a special pan, and that you can easily vary the size and shape, they were sold on galettes!
