This past weekend we celebrated a loved ones long journey to being a full on legal resident of these great United States. For the festivities, we threw him an all-American BBQ with all the trimmings. Hot dogs and hamburgers were enjoyed by all, but the highlight of the event was what you see here, an American Flag Cake. which was part Baked (cake and frosting recipe) and Part my hero, Ina Garten (idea and decor). Loved one is from Germany, where sweet frostings do not go over so well. So imagine my surprise when he went for seconds, thirds and dare I say, fourths.
The Fancy Food Show is due to swing through NYC shortly and we plan on being there with our granola.
If you manage to get into the show, you will be surprised at the sheer size of the event. Virtually every country is represented. Expect to see lots of pasta, olive oils, chocolates, salts, and spices. If you can make it through the Italian pavilion without gaining a few pounds, we would be amazed.
The annnual FCI Golden Scoop Awards were announced earlier this week and we were so very excited to learn that our 'Flight of Whoopie Pies' were nominated for Best Bakery Recipe! For the entry, we did mini versions of the flavors we offer here at Baked: Classic, Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Pistachio and Strawberry. We are up against two other amazing Bakeries, Grandaisy and Sullivan Street. We hope that the Judges over at Golden Scoop agree that whoopie pies are taking over the world, and this is just the beginning! Hooray for whoopie!
Saturday was a beautiful day for a food festival at the very Mars-like National Harbor. (I am sure National Harbor will be a lovely place when it is fully built, but right now it is full of building carcasses and cranes and dirt parking lots which gives the place an air of otherworldliness).
We ate and drank and sampled our granola all day long. Mountain Blend was the festival fave. The whole thing was located outside in large tents by the water. Not a bad way to spend the weekend.
This weekend, we will be participating in Washington DC's newest food festival at National Harbor.
It is the inaugural event and it looks to be a big one. Tons of local and not so local food and wine vendors are supposed to participate. We will be making items from our book that is due out in October, and sampling our granola.
We will be open during our regular business hours for Mother's Day weekend. Stop by for special mom-like treats in mom-like colors. We would love to see you.
Our new bagged granola is slowly (very slowly) rolling out to a grocery store near you. Keep your eyes peeled.
We have a new Baked Granola website in the works to tell you about our exciting flavors and delicious blends. If you want to see our granola in your neighborhood store, drop us a line at info@bakednyc.com and let us know where you live and where you shop.
It's a Dolly week for sure. She was a "mentor" on American Idol this week, she sang a new song from her new CD, and there is some news about 9 to 5 becoming a big Broadway Musical. What is lost in all this Dolly hoopla is that she went and wrote a cookbook (okay it was back in 2006) and get this: it has its own website. Of course it is our cookbook of the week...so go buy one (the proceeds go to charity) and make the Green Tomato Cake. I have not tried it yet, but I am oddly intrigued.
We are verge of Spring in NYC. It comes, visits, then leaves. In between these little bursts or "moments" of Spring, we get soaked by rain or the temperature drops. On these in-between days (not to springy/not too wintry), I get the craving for ice cream. Boatloads of it. I want it sundae style...lots of drizzled chocolate and nuts and whipped cream. I ran across this ice-cream concoction while I was visiting Paris last year. It was a very hard caramel ice-cream..hard but creamy....with a light caramel sauce and the top was scooped out and filled with chocolate chunks. I wish I remembered the name of the resto where I had it....but for those of you visiting Paris it is located directly across from Laduree on rue Bonaparte.
Our Cookbook of the week this actually a video. The "cooking" segment is only a few minutes long, but it is surely worth watching, if you are one of the few who haven't already seen this. Watch Brenda make a morning shake as well as talk about nutrition. There is no actual cooking involved in this segment, but we assume Brenda is quite unaware that the room she is in is actually a kitchen. Enjoy:
So, as you may know, we don't do "shaped cakes" or traditional "character cakes". We want our cakes to be 100% edible (no excessive foams or fondants) and we use chocolate transfers (made with a very high-quality chocolate) to bring certain elements of a character to life. Over the weekend, Blair Van Sant, created a Super Mario Bros. cake for a Super Mario Bros fan. Hope you like.
Happy Easter Weekend. Baked is open on Saturday from 9AM-7PM and on Easter Sunday from 9AM-5PM. Regular hours resume Monday. Featuring Easter goodies all weekend long.
So, Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook, got slammed by Kirkus reviews. Apparently, Alice (Ann B. Davis) is not a chef, the book is a mess, and the recipes are cringe worthy (House of Cards Hamburgers and Cindy's Buttery Just Butter Cookies). On the other hand, the three (that's right, THREE) Amazon reviewers just love the book and praise the recipes and the collection as a whole. I prefer not to take sides. I think any spiral bound 8 dollar cookbook bearing the likeness of the Brady's deserves a quick glance and I am somewhat sickly tempted to make the Marcia, Marcia, Marcia Muffins. It is, of course, our cookbook of the week.
We got up fairly early on Saturday morning to shoot a few elaborate (at least by our standards) campaign shots for our new line of packaged granola. We gathered a few easygoing models, a few friends, and Brian Kennedy (the perfect photographer) and shot the day away in Dumbo's park.
Over the years I have been gifted many odd/strange/unusual cookbooks. The books, usually gifted with a tongue-in-cheek nod, sat in a pile in the corner of my bedroom until recently. After a much needed house-cleaning, I dropped many of these books off at Housing Works or The Strand to be regifted and enjoyed. I feel a tinge of regret for dropping off the Star Trek Cookbook. I was never a Trekkie -- I probably never even watched a whole episode -- but I was always intrigued by the idea of extreme Star Trek fandom and the multiple and varied conventions that still take place. This book is obviously our cookbook of the week. The tone is somewhat earnest and the book received a full 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. You can even get a full view of Garret Wang's Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. For Real.
We had to run down to Philadelphia for a quick business meeting and spent the day taking in the city. It was a perfect day for a Philly stroll.
A few notes about Philly (from two people who have not been to the city in many years):
1. It's close. Really. Really close. Only 1 hour from NYC via Amtrak. About the same time it would take a subway to go from Brooklyn to the Bronx.
2. It's clean. Like, seriously scrubbed clean. All gleaming sidewalks, shiny storefronts, and perfect parks.
3. The food. Philly has always had a swaggering restaurant reputation, but it just continues to improve.
So, if you have nothing going on this weekend (or next, or the weekend after that), hop a train to Philly. It's a decent day trip. If you happen to go this weekend you can check out the infamous Flower Show which happens to be right next to Reading Terminal Market where you can eat your face off.
Here are a couple of camera phone snaps of Renato eating his way through the market:
Sophia Loren is the definition of class. All style and smiles and flair. And she cooks. In fact, she is recognized by the Italian government for her kitchen skills (true, we have no idea what this means exactly). Of course, this cookbook, is our Cookbook of the Week. It is full of straight forward (no BS here) Italian recipes, and some memior-esque musings. Enjoy.
Try Spaghetti con Pomodoro Crudo* (Spaghetti with uncooked tomato sauce) from "Sophia Loren Recipes & Memories" (GT Publishing).
"This is cool and refreshing, excellent for summer," says Loren. "Serve with chilled white wine."
Makes 6 servings
1-1/2 pounds spaghetti 2 pounds tomatoes, not quite ripe, chopped 1/2 pound mozzarella, thinly sliced 2 medium red or Vidalia onions, thinly sliced 1/4 cup pitted Sicilian green olives, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons drained caper 1/4 cup minced Italian parsley 10 to 12 chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried 1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed Salt Freshly ground pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Freshly grated Parmigiano cheese (optional)
Cook the pasta until just al dente. While the pasta is cooking, place in a large serving bowl the tomatoes, mozzarella, onions, olives, capers, parsley, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the oil over and toss gently.
When the pasta is ready, pour into a colander and quickly rinse it under cold water; drain well and add the warm spaghetti to the bowl. Toss to combine, remove the garlic if desired, and serve. Pass the cheese at the table.
