KAF Class: Lemon Desserts

Most recently I took a lemon desserts class. We made a tart crust, which we filled with the lemon curd we made next. Last we made lemon madeleines, which we sprinkled with powdered sugar. It all turned out delicious, I had the lemon tart for breakfast the next day, and shared most of my madeleines with my neighbor. Unfortunately I wasn't on top of my game that night, and only took one picture!

My tart crust

KAF Class: Cake Decorating

I took a cake decorating class to learn to use the cake decorating icing bags and tips to decorate a cake with buttercream frosting. We had cake layers pre-made for us so we could focus on the frosting and decorating. We made a vanilla buttercream frosting to use, then we started by cutting our cake in half, leveling each piece, then "gluing" them together with a layer of icing in between.

Next we put a very thin layer of frosting around the whole cake to seal in the crumbs and let it chill to set up.

After that, we put a thick layer of frosting all over, trying to make a smooth, uniform surface.

While the frosting chilled and hardened in the fridge, we practiced with the pastry bags, piping out shapes onto parchment paper

Finally, we decorated our cakes

I brought mine to a friend's house to share because I didn't need a whole vanilla cake in my fridge, too tempting

KAF Class: Pies and Rolls

For Thanksgiving, King Arthur Flour offered a Pies & Rolls class - which was exactly what it sounded, come in and make a pie and dinner rolls from scratch to take home for Thanksgiving dinner the next day. I was going to the Dean of Students house for my meal since it would be too expensive to fly home for the short break. I was thrilled to be able to bring a dessert and dinner rolls to share.

My pie crust

The crescent roll dough

Ready to hit the oven

My cranberry pear pie with almond strussel topping

My tender sour cream and chive crescent rolls

King Arthur Flour Class: Wood Fired Pizza

I took a wood-fired pizza class at KAF, we made dough for a pizza, a calzone, and a bread called fougasse. It was delicious, and so much fun to try my hand at using a wood fired oven, definitely something to add to my someday wish list.

Checking for doneness

My pizza was the one on the right

My fougasse with our recipes

Vermont Cooking

I've been living in a rural part of Vermont while I work towards my Masters degree. Since there's not a whole lot to do here, when I get downtime, I cook and bake.

Here's a bunch of photos of things I've made while living here...
Fiddleheads and baked sweet potato

Portobello mushroom quiche

Cheese Crackers with Vermont Powdered Cheese

French Bread 

Homemade vanilla biscotti with homemade Mexican hot chocolate

Tortellini with homemade fresh tomato mushroom sauce

Tostada pizza on homemade crust with a homemade cayenne lime yogurt dressing

Vegetable Sushi Roll Assortment

Homemade chipotle tortilla soup 

Vegetable Quesadilla

Tilapia breaded and pan fried with mashed potatoes and spinach

Homemade Tuna Rolls

I found sushi grade Ahi Tuna at the Hanover Co-op, a real treat for me here in Vermont. I made tuna cucumber rolls and cut some sashimi slices for myself. I prefer avocado with tuna but the co-op didn't have any ripe ave so I had to stick with cucumber. I sprinkled some black sesame on top, and it was a to-die-for lunch.

Here's a link to a video on how to roll a California roll. I have more difficulty with the inside out rolls like these where the rice is on the outside. I'll get it, with plenty of practice ;)

Sushi Rolling Video

St. Peters Brewery

My friend Peter and I picked up St. Peter's Organic Ale sometime ago, simply because we liked the bottle and the name was appealing for Peter. We ended up loving the taste, and the other day, picked up another bottle, as well as St. Peter's Porter, and St. Peter's Cream Stout.

The St. Peters didn't taste quite the same as we remembered it, perhaps it was an old bottle? The cream stout and the porter were both good, similar to each other in flavor, but with the stout have a slightly more burned, smoky flavor than the lighter porter.