From The Bakery
President's Day Cherry Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake
by Suzanne Virgilio on 02/19/12
We all know the first half of the story: George Washington chopped down the cherry tree. But do you know what he did with those cherries? He made dessert!
For those who love sour cherries but don’t have time to make a pie~ A delicious take on the favorite “up-side down” cake. A buttery cake made extra moist with almond paste and topped with a sweetened mix of sour cherries. The only way to improve it is to serve it with a dollop of whipped cream!
For the Cherry Topping
Ingredients
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1 - 24 oz jar sour cherries
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6 Tbsp unsalted butter
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1/4-cup light brown sugar
Procedure
1. Drain cherries and set aside
2. Combine butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until sugar is melted.
3. Stir in cherries, increase the heat to medium-high and bring just to a boil
4. The cherries should be soft but still maintain their shape. Use a slotted soon to transfer cherries to a baking sheet to cool.
5. Once cherries are cool arrange them in the bottom of the prepared pan.
6. Bring the sugar mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat, cook it without stirring for 3 minutes and pour it over the cherries
For the Cake
Ingredients-
10 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
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1 tsp baking powder
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1/2-cup cornmeal
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1/4 tsp salt
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6 Tbsp unsalted butter
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1/4 cup almond paste – crumbles
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3/4 cup granulated sugar
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3 large eggs – room temp
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 tsp almond extract
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1/2-cup milk
Procedure
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, cornmeal and salt in a medium bowl, stir to combine.
2. Combine the butter, almond paste, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium – high until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. With the mixer on low speed add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. When all the eggs have been added, turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the mixture is light and increased in volume, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.
3. With the mixer running on low speed stir in 1/3 of flour mixture. Stir in 1/2 milk. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk, ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the batter on high speed for 30 seconds.
4. Pour batter over cherries; gently spread it into an even layer with a spatula.
5. Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.
6. Transfer to wire rack and let stand for 5 minutes.
7. After 5 minutes, invert cake onto serving plate, replacing fruit that may have stuck to bottom of pan. Let cake cook for 20 minutes then serve or serve at room temperature
8. Store uneaten cake (if any) loosely covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days
“Bon Appetit!”
Menu 2-16
by Suzanne Virgilio on 02/15/12
Hi everyone,
I hope your week is going well, and you are looking forward to the holiday weekend. With George Washington’s birthday approaching, we decided to get patriotic and do a cherry cornmeal cake on the baked good side. We also have a new, very delicious, salted caramel pie on the menu. It has a graham cracker crust drizzled with chocolate, bakery-made salted caramel, bakery-made whipped cream and topped with chocolate shavings.
On the savory side, the Braised Asian beef short ribs with wasabi mashed potatoes are back on the menu. These short ribs are browned and then braised in Asian-infused juices for two hours. We then used those juices to make an amazing gravy that covers the short ribs.
Thanks and see you at the bakery!
Suzanne Virgilio
Duck Panang Curry with Julienne Vegetables
by Suzanne Virgilio on 02/13/12
Valentine's Day is here, and many of you will be heading out for a romantic dinner. But considering that Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday, you may be staying home to make a special meal. If that's the case, we recommend treating your date to this delicoius duck panang curry dish.
Thai food is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. While some Thai curries can be VERY spicy, Panang is milder and pairs perfectly with the flavor of duck.
The toughest part about making Thai food is the preparation. Before you start searing the duck or cooking the sauce, we recommend chopping all the vegetables and herbs. Once you've prepped everything, the recipe is actually quite easy to follow!
4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 3-4 duck breast halves
- 2 red bell peppers, julienned
- 10-15 brocoli florets
- 1/4 lb frenched green beens
- 5 carrots, julienned
- 1 tablespoon hot chili garlic paste (sambal oelek)*
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 finely chopped shallots
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5" piece of fresh ginger, minced
- 1/4 Cup Thai Panang curry paste**
- 27 ounces unsweetened coconut milk**
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce*
- 2 Cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
*These ingredients are available in the Asian section of many supermarkets and at Asian food markets.
**Be sure to buy good quality curry paste and coconut milk. For all Thai dishes we make at the bakery, we use Maesri brand curry paste and Chaokoh coconut milk.
Cooking the Duck Breasts
Duck is a very fatty meat, and the fat adds to its flavor. To prep the duck, you'll want to score the skin side and season it with salt. For an example of how to score a duck breast, see this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIMKAwe8KSU
Place the duck breasts skin side down in a cold skillet over low-medium heat. Starting off with a cold skillet allows the skin to crisp without burning the skin. After eight minutes of cooking on the skin side, flip the duck and cook for another three to four minutes for a nice rosy-pink center. Once the duck has cooked, put it aside to cool, and then slice the breasts so they are ready when the time comes to add them to the curry sauce.
***There will be leftover duck fat in the pan. Pour this fat into a bowl for use in the vegetables and curry sauce.
Saute the Vegetables
Add two tablespoons of the duck fat to the skillet and saute half of the shallots, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Then, add the brocoli, green beans, and julienned carrots. Saute these vegetables for two to three minutes, and then add the bell peppers and hot chili paste. Saute for another two to three minutes to allow flavors to combine. Once vegetables are sauteed, take them out of the skillet and set them aside.
Making the Panang Curry Sauce
Add two tablespoons of duck fat to skillet and saute the remaining shallots, garlic and ginger. Once these three ingredients are fragrant, add the curry paste, brown sugar and fish sauce to the skillet. Mix these ingredients together with a wooden spoon over low-medium heat for two to three minutes. Once the flavors have combined, stir in the unsweetend cocunut milk. Bring to a boil and then simmer the sauce. You can add 1/2 cup of water if the sauce seems thick.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Finally add the sliced duck breast to the sauce and stire until coated.
Prepare for serving
Scoop a cup of rice onto the plate. Then add the sauce and a few slices of the duck breast on top. Top the curry sauce with the sauteed vegetables and some freshly chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
Bakery Menu February 9-10
by Suzanne Virgilio on 02/09/12
Hi everyone,
This week has some tasty offerings on the bakery side. We
went with a new scone: the roasted pineapple, mango and passion fruit scone.
This combination of fruit makes for perfect comfort food, especially after a
little snow storm!
We also couldn’t decide on whether to do a pie or cake this week, so we went with both. The warm raspberry chocolate pudding cake is a new and delicious cake added to our lineup, and the banana cream pie is back for the first time in a while.
For the savory, the smoky tortilla soup is amazing! The Ancho and Passilla chiles give this Mexican style-soup such depth and flavor.
The shrimp Florentine lasagna is layered with flavor! It starts with a bakery-made red sauce, then goes to roasted vegetable layer, a bakery-made creamy shrimp sauce, a ricotta and spinach layer, and then topped off with more of the red sauce and grated parmesan.
Thanks and see you at the bakery!
Suzanne Virgilio
