Kitchen Class Ends!

- Get Your Own


Finally I finished my last kitchen class at Apple Pie Bakery Cafe of The Culinary Institute of America. Thanks to Chef Migoya who made me realize the difference of making extraordinary products from good ones. To Tara, our Bread Team T.A. (Teacher's Assistant"), thanks for your patience. I enjoyed working with you all. We made it as a team and now we will face a new challenge at FOH (front of the house) of the Cafe. It has been a pain going to class at 3 a.m. (means getting 2:10 am to groom myself and have thed dreaded good coffee), but I knew what I really wanted in life. To feel tired for my passion. There were hindrances to getting up to attend this class especially knowing that you will be working with very competitive people, but we all made it. To one of my groupmates in P.M, who apparently will not graduate with us, hang in there, you will make it if you want to. I am so sick and tired of this but why do I still love it. Sounds wierd but thats how it is. I did it! (Sabi nga ng anak ko! To you son,and my family I love you and thank you!

Fall Feast!

It was a requirement for us to create anything for our Restaurant Production Dessert Class that focuses on the given main ingredient to each group. This sampler meaning each dessert should weight 2-3 ounces each and is perfectly made for the Fall season. This is my classmate's creations, I just think it was well-done from the base to the garnish. Clockwise: Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Pumpkin Sorbet with Pumpkin Tuile and and Pumpkin Panna Cota with Creme Chantilly (cream,vanilla and powdered sugar) and pumpkin seeds. I think its Pumpkin' Good:)

Birthday Cake For Angelica

Thank you to my relatives who patronize my cakes. Angelica,my niece celebrated her 7th birthday last September. I made this cake with my mom (thank you), we thought using rose buds to highlight Geca's young age. I used Italian buttercream which is syrup cooked to soft ball stage added in to frothy eggwhites. It is then whipped to medim peak stage, very soft butter is folded at low speed for better flavor and body. This icing works well with any cake, stable and egg-safe since eggwahite coagulates through the hot syrup. I piped out medium size shell borders and Fluer De Lis on all sides of the cake. The cake inside is flavored with coffee and orange. The doll's face in this cake is amazing, perfectly matches with Geca's age. To Geca, thanks for being there for Jiggy and thanks for sharing those special moments with him.

Savory Pie For Special Friends

My mom makes the best Ground Beef Stew. This simply sauteed with onions, bellpeppers and tomato sauce. Well, we had lots of shortening and butter and all purpose flour plus little salt to make a flaky crust. The crust was blind baked since I used a cooked filling. It was baked again at 350 F for 30-35 minutes together with the filling. The recipe was a success because we ate it simply with ketchup paired with hot tea. I made for my friends at the Culinary Institute. To you guys, I will miss you but we know in our hearts that will be out in the industry to become the best leaders and spread the word FOOD to the world. Thanks to mom's meat filling too.

The Beach "An 18th Birthday Cake"

Definition: An icing made out of gelatin, confectioners sugar and water. A very smooth and maleable icing that dries hard. Not for the amateur, this icing isn't put on with a knife, but rather rolled to a uniform thickness and then laid over the cake. It can also be used for detail work such as making intricate flowers. A fondant-covered cake can be spotted by its rounded edges.
Also Known As: rolled fondant

My cousin from Connecticut wanted a simple theme for her birthday. She wanted something that would also depict her personality her very young age.A very subtle yellow background percfectly matches the sea shells andwild plants. The pear pipe outs embossed all over represents purity and class. . I used vanilla sponge cake with apricot filling for three layers and covered with italian buttercream as crumbcoat.I made the cake just this summer and it was quite challenge since fondant is either good or bad on a cold or warm season. It was fun though!

Whoopie Pies

A whoopie pie, sometimes alternatively called a gob, is a baked good traditional to the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as well as New England, made of two small, chocolate, disk-shaped cakes with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them.

Photo of Whoopie Pies
Small, compact, durable, and convenient to carry about the person, they are popular both as a simple dessert or as a snack food. They can be purchased wrapped in plastic at Amish farmers' markets throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio and are often found in restaurants and gift shops throughout Pennsylvania Dutch Country. As one of the most common delicacies of the cuisine, recipes for whoopie pies are almost always included in Pennsylvania Dutch cookbooks.
It is a mystery as to where the whoopie pie was actually developed. While many claim it first originated among the Pennsylvania Dutch, others speculate that it was first invented in a Bangor, Maine bakery from leftover cake batter. Beyond Pennsylvania, the whoopie pie is also common throughout New England and neighboring parts of Canada, and Nancy Baggett, author of "The All-American Cookie Book," proposes that the confection began as a commercial product in that region. In her book, she claims that the first commercially made whoopie pies were manufactured by the Berwick Cake Company in Dudley Square, Roxbury, Massachusetts, starting around 1927. Some speculate that they were actually introduced to Maine and the rest of New England by migrating Amish sects. Many believe that the name derives from the expression that the taste of the cookie would provoke. The ingredients found in a whoopie pie differ from recipe to recipe. The filling can range from rich, complex buttercreams or whipped creams to common Marshmallow Fluff found in stores. Many recipes call for vegetable shortening to be added, as this allows the finished whoopie pie to be stored and transported without being easily squashed or melted. Some unconventional variations include the use of pumpkin, oatmeal, or banana flavored cakes rather than chocolate and cream cheese or peanut butter instead of cream in the center. Many people familiar with the treat, however, would say that nothing can compare to the simplicity of the original chocolate version.

"Add a Teaspoon of vanilla"

vanilla, a plant of the genus Vanilla of the family Orchidaceae (orchid family). Vines of hot, damp climates, most are indigenous to Central and South America, especially Mexico, but are now cultivated in other tropical regions. The fruits yield vanilla, a flavoring popular since pre-Columbian times, when the Aztecs used it in making chocolate. The commercial vanilla plant is usually V. planifolia or V. fragrans. Since its natural pollinating agents (certain bees and hummingbirds) are uniquely adapted for this function, commercial plants must be pollinated by hand. The source of the flavor is an aromatic essence, vanillin, which crystallizes on the outside of the seed pod after a series of curing and drying processes. Vanilla flavoring is also obtained from the tonka bean, although now it is most commonly manufactured by the cheaper process of artificially synthesizing vanillin, as from coal tar, clove oil, or lignin, a byproduct of paper manufacture. Vanilla is usually marketed as an alcoholic extract for use as food and tobacco flavoring and in perfumery. Vanilla is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Orchidales, family Orchidaceae.

Market Forms of Vanilla:
Premium beans, regardless of where they come from, should have a rich, full aroma, be oily to the touch, and sleek in appearance. Beans to avoid are those with very little scent, are smoky, brittle or dry, or are mildewed.
Bourbon beans , Mexican beans and Tahitian beans. ALso avialale in extract, powdered and paste forms. Now you can add a teaspoon of that good and pure vanilla!!!

The Best Pizza I Ever Tasted

Even though I get too exhasuted from baking (in school), I still would find time to experiment on anything. This time with someones close to my heart, my son. Being a single mom is totally different for me! Every single moment I am having with him such a wonderful moment to savor. So, what do you do when you have a pocket size of instant yeast, all purpose flour, salt and semolina-- make Pizza. While I was mixing the dough, he (my son) came and ask if he can touch the sticky thing, he called it, "It's a pizza dough" I uttered. I have seen that happy face when I allowed him to dig into that bowl to touch the whole batch. Personally being a professional in this field(pastry and baking), I already set my mind that I would not push him to be like me (pastry chef) one day, but really to become whatever he likes doing, then I guess I see in this kid that he also has a interest although at an early age(3 yrs. old). I was around 6 or 7 according to my mom when she knew I wanted to be working in the kicthen or professionally at the " back of the house".
This simply with tomato sauce, ham, sliced cheddar cheese and onions and cilantro which I always have in my pantry(just so good to me).We actually munched on this while out in our balcony together with my mom. To you son, I will support you all the way! It was a very simple, the typical pizza but made by me and my only love in life (as of this moment of my life,hehe!)

New Generation Chefs

Create Your Own!

Tools & "MISE-EN-PLACE"

Mise en place[MEEZ ahn plahs]A French term referring to having all the ingredients necessary for a dish prepared and ready to combine up to the point of cooking.

Tools are are handheld devices that aids in accomplishing a task. These are both needed in being able to execute any recipe. Yes, it may be quite pricy but it is worth the money. I was very stingy in buying tools for my use and ended up buying whatever I think will be appropraite for the appliation. There are variable trends that we should adjust to so that we are able to create the best dessert or dish. It comes to you at the end of the day, how you are able to create 4 recipes successfully, well it was because everything was done appropriately. Don't forget to have thermometers, scales, measuring cups and spoons and a timer too. Believe me:)

Passion will get you there!

As I take my last 6 weeks at the Culinary Institute of America, I would like to share with you my success in fulfilling that dream of becoming a pastry chef. Currently I am working at Apple Pie Bakery Cafe which is the coffeeshop of the school. RICH's Products donated this to the school. I am currently working with 5 people for the Bread Team for this month and I am going to be at the FOH or front of the house by last week of this month till November 9. I am in charge of the Laminted Doughs which consists of all the croissants, chocolate croissants, pecan danish, apple danish,banana danish, chocolate pistachio lattice danish and pizza doughs. Today I learned so much from Chef Migoya who was from the French Laundry ( famous restaurant in California), our head pastry chef, that each step in baking is important. Yes, it is true that I have been doing this for a long time but taking each tedious step with caution will show your end products production quality. It was this morning that I got yelled at for not simply cutting the dough just a half inch difference which was suppose to be exactly 4inches . I almost cried but my deep passion for pastry arts came back to me and decided to go on! What chef was trying to point out was that I have invested hours from 3:00 am to 9:00am and just by cutting it half inch difference will ruin all my products. Now I am ready to take all those mistakes and make the best laminated doughs in my own cafe and restaurant by year 2008. I hope you guys are also willing to go out of your way for your passion! Whatever it takes I am ready ! Are you?...

"Pastry Arts" both Science and Aesthetics

I was astonished during my pilot training in Contemporary Cakes Class in school (CIA) with Chef Todd Knaster. It was not just about creating the best flavor profile for cakes but also considering all the details like, presentation, texture, crumb structure, temperatures of components, taste and flavor. This is one creation I made the Mango Lemon Cake. It has a "1-2-3 pied dough (1,2,3 meaning ratios of flour,fat and sugar) at the very bottom, mango mousse, lemon curd for the pearls you can see at the diagram, vanilla sponge cake, thinly sliced ripe but firm mangoes and a plain gelee as glaze. Evrything is blast frozen and thawed out for 15-30 minutes right before service. What I am showing is that when creatinga any dessert piece, it is essential to think deliberately on how your cake should be prepared so that when that person makes a slice of that cake that you made will be delighted and will not forget about it! I believe that first and last impression lasts especially for desserts "a perfect ender" for any meal, I bet your friends are gonna like you even more having such knowledge of a dessert piece. I have more to share and actually will show one of this days the end product of this lay out.

"Kusina"

Kuisna or Cucina in Spanish literally means a kitchen. A nook for cooks and food lovers.
A kitchen is a room used for food preparation. A modern kitchen is typically equipped with a stove or microwave oven and has a sink with water on tap for cleaning food and dishwashing. Modern kitchens often also feature a dishwasher. Some installations to store food usually also are present, either in the form of an adjacent pantry or more commonly cabinets and a refrigerator.
Although the main function of a kitchen is cooking, it can be the center of activities as well, especially within homes, depending on its size, furnishing, and equipment. If a washing machine is present, washing and drying laundry is also done in the kitchen. The kitchen may also be the place where the family eats, provided it is large enough. Sometimes, it is the most comforting room in a house, where family and visitors tend to congregate.
I miss my kitchen back home. As soon as I get home, I'd be more than happy to show you how I am going to fix my test kitchen.

"Sa kusina ko " or "In my kitchen"

I have tried to ignore blogging and just could not help but still find time to read them. I think that blogging will be a part of my routine since I have been in the food industry for quite a time. This new phase of sharing with you guys will be more executed with passion and eagerness to learn more. Food is broad that is why I guess there is a growing demand on blog sites and even more food enthusiasts and professionals who participate in this routine. Once again, I am inviting you to visit this site "Sa Kusina Ko" which is a "Tagalog(my mother tongue) phrase from my country the Philippines.Thank you***Chef KC

Officially a pinay chef!

I am happy to be back with blogger.com! Join me as I celebrate life through food!