Local Amazing Cake Artist

So now and again I come across things that I MUST share with everyone. Sometimes it's a new recipe, a really great restaurant, or a new kind of food. The same goes when I come across someone with amazing talent. Let me introduce you to Michelle Elias.

Michelle, (we call her Shelly), attended the same college as I did. She isn't just a regular cake maker.. she is a Cake Artist. Some of her works, I swear, could earn her first place on one of those television cake competitions. The best thing about her is that she isn't in it for the money. She does it for the art. Like any profession goes, quality is best achieved when it is done with passion and not just for money. She enjoys her craft and she does it well. She's the kind of person that works WITH you and is able to produce an extraordinary product based on what YOU want. She makes the cake, frosting, and fillings from scratch so you are sure to get a quality product. And they taste every bit as good as they look!

Recently, she created a cake for my wife's birthday. I wanted to surprise her with a cake from Shelly as my wife really likes them. So we discussed what my wife likes. Everything from decoration ideas to flavor of the cake. After talking for a bit, she had all the information that she needed. I posted a picture of it below. My wife LOVES owls. So she got an awesome owl cake! And it tasted SO good!  I recently talked to her about making it and this is what she said:
      "I actually loved working on that cake in particular for you guys. I enjoy the challenge of putting together a design FOR someone, and I look forward to many more cakes and challenges to come."

So whether you are looking for a cake, cupcakes, cookies, baked goods, etc., give Shelly a call or send her a message on Facebook! Any occasion or event you may have, she'll make the perfect cake for you!

Her contact info is:

At Your Artistic Service

Phone: 814-790-0830

You can find her on Facebook here.

Check her page out for more pictures but for now, here is some of the work she's done:

   

This is one of my favorite cakes!

This is the birthday cake that she did for my wife!

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Lasagna

Every year, you spend all day cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Candied Yams, etc. Everything is so good and your guests are all stuffed to the gills. After the food is put away and all your guests have left, it's time to relax. Then for the next week, you ask yourself every night, "What's for dinner and what do we do with all this leftover Turkey?" There's the Turkey Salad, Turkey Sandwiches, Turkey Pot Pie, and all the other typical turkey meals. But when you are craving for something just a little different, how about an easy weeknight meal such as Turkey Pot Pie Lasagna?

I was going to make Turkey Pot Pie for dinner one night when I realized that we didn't have anything to make a pie crust. (More like I didn't feel like making a pie crust.) So I raided the pantry and fridge, and came up with this recipe.

Turkey Pot Pie Lasagna

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 60 min

Ingredients

• No-Boil Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Tbls Olive Oil
• 1 Tbls Butter
• 2 Tbls Flour
• 1 Lg Carrot, diced
• 1 Stalk Celery, diced
• 1 Small Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 C Chicken Stock
• 1/2 C Milk or Cream
• 1 C Frozen Peas
• 3 C Shredded Mozzarella or Provolone Cheese (slices will work too.)
• 3 C Leftover Turkey, shredded
• Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium saucepan melt butter and add olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add Onion, Celery, Carrot, and Garlic to butter and oil. Cook until vegetables are tender.
4. Add flour and stir to make a roux.
5. Add Chicken Stock and bring to a simmer.
6. Stir in Soup and Milk. If sauce is too thick, add more milk.
7. Add Frozen Peas, Nutmeg, Salt, and Pepper..
8. Build your lasagna by first adding a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of an 8x8 Square Pan.Then add a layer of the Noodles.On top of that layer evenly 1 C Turkey, then Sauce, then 1 C of the Cheese. Repeat Again. On the top layer, instead of Noodles, Use the last cup of Cheese as a topper. 
9. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
10. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Layering

Top with Sauce and Vegetables.

Top is a nice layer of cheese.

Right out of the oven

It was so good that I forgot to take a picture until it was almost gone.

There are so many variations you could do with this dish. You could use any of the cream soups.Cream of Celery, Cream of Chicken, etc. You could add or remove any vegetables, different cheeses. The combinations are infinite. I hope everyone had a great holiday! Feel free to share any ideas you have!

Grape Pie

Fall is here and that means grapes are ready! If you are lucky enough to live in grape country like I do then you know all about the plethora of grapes that are ripening in the vineyards. Every day that I drive to class, I pass at least 5 or 6. As I drive by with the windows down, I can't help but smell the air saturated with the sweet smell of grapes. There are a couple farm stands on my way there and sometimes I stop in to see what they have. I usually buy some concord grapes so I can make Grape Pie. If you've never had it, it is sweet and extremely delicious. It has a burst of grape flavor and just the right amount of tartness. The only tedious part of making Grape Pie is the separating of the skins from the grapes. Other than that, everything else is easy! I didn't make up the recipe I use but I did find a great one from Allrecipes. Click HERE for the recipe.

 

Fresh locally grown Concord Grapes

Grapes removed from skins

Grape Skins set aside

All mixed up and put in oven

All done!

Make sure you put something under the pies when baking. The filling WILL rise. In the pie on the right in the picture of them in the oven, the filling rose just over the crust. So it is imperative you place something under it. It goes great with vanilla ice cream! Let me know what you think of Grape Pie when you make one!

Cooking Basics - Stocks

Ever wonder what the difference between stock and broth is? The answer is.. Bones! Stock is made using bones only. A few flecks of meat here and there won't change it, but primarily bones. Broth is made using both bones and meat, or sometimes just meat.

The base to a great sauce starts at the stock you use. Making your own stock is by far much better than buying store bought. First of all, you control the quality of ingredients. You know what is going in it and therefore can adjust it to your cooking needs. Also, Flavor! Store bought tastes like chicken flavored water. Homemade has a much richer and flavorful taste.

Brown Stock means that you brown the bones before making the stock and obviously it will be a rich brown color. Now, if you are planning on making a nice white sauce where the light color is important, you will want to use White Chicken Stock. When making that, the process is the same, however, you won't brown the bones.

There are some key things to remember when making stock:

• Only start with and add cold water. If you add hot or warm water, the proteins will coagulate and cause your finished stock to be cloudy and muddy. 
• As it is simmering, strain the top regularly to get out the scum that forms on top. 
• Do not boil! Let it simmer nice and slow. If it boils, the scum will get churned into the stock and taste greasy and muddy.
• Don't add salt. Because the salt concentration level will be different when you are finished, there is a chance it may be too salty. You can always ADD salt, but you can't REMOVE it. Also, you can adjust seasonings when adding it to your dish.
• Once the stock has cooked, cool it down as quickly as possible. I try to freeze 2 liter pop bottles full of water and place them in the finished stock as the whole pot sits in an ice bath. Once it is cool enough, I pour it in large containers and cool overnight. The fat will rise to the top, harden, and can then be scraped off. 

Portion stock out in desired containers and freeze for later use. I use quart containers and 4 oz containers. Since I usually use a little or a lot of stock.

Cast Iron Chef Challenge 2013

Not too long ago was the 2nd Annual Duran's Down Home Days. If you weren't there, you really missed a spectacular event! You better be there next year! There were many vendors and crafters, chances to win prizes, and all of it supports Kanzius Cancer Research. Many people work VERY hard to organize this event and need you to come out next year to make it bigger.

One event that was held was the Cast Iron Chef Challenge. I am proud to say I participated in this event. I formed a team that consisted of Me, my wife Nahtanha, My friend from Culinary School, Molly, and her husband, Josh. It was so much fun! We had never participated in any kind of competition. The only kind of cast iron cooking I've done, has been on my gas stove top. Never have I used coals with cast iron. So this was all unfamiliar territory. For those of you who have never used coals to bake in a dutch oven, it is extremely hard. Trying to keep it at a constant temperature.. not so easy. But we did the best we could.

I thought I'd take you on the journey we went through from start to overtime!

Saturday
     On Saturday morning, we arrived at the Waterford Community Fairgrounds and were welcomed by a lady with a clip board who was directing people where to go. The only 2 spots left were #1 and #4 I believe. I picked spot #1. We unpacked all our gear and set up. I converted a gas grill into our cooking station earlier in the week and got that all set up.

Our Table

Our Kitchen

Part 1 of the Team: Nahtanha and Me

Part 2 of the Team: Molly and Josh

Day 1 Menu

There were 4 dishes to be turned in. The first 2 on Saturday and then 2 on Sunday. Our times to turn our dishes in were Noon and 4:50pm. We also got a secret ingredient for each dish that we had to turn in. Our first secret ingredient was Sweet Corn. We decided to try and make a Corn and Pepper Soup. The store didn't have any Poblano Peppers, so we went with Jalapenos. We fire roasted the peppers, sauteed some onions and corn. Then added chicken stock and the peppers and pureed it until it was the consistency we wanted it and added cream.

Corn and Pepper Soup that we turned in to the judges

We had a little extra time, so we decided to make an extra little corn dish where we sauteed it with peppers, onions, balsamic vinegar and a little brown sugar.

Balsamic Corn Saute

The next dish wasn't due until 4:50pm. It was the Protein Category. The secret ingredient was bone-in chicken. We knew that we wanted to do a braised chicken as it would be the best chance for it to come out tender and juicy. We made Box Office Chicken. It was a garlic and wine braised chicken. We dredged it in flour, browned it, removed it, sauteed a few onions and cloves of garlic from 2 whole bulbs. When those were browned, we added a whole bottle of white cooking wine and added the chicken back to the dutch oven on top of all the garlic. We braised it in the dutch oven until about 15 minutes before it was time to serve. The flour from the chicken thickened up the liquid and juices and made a tasty sauce. I toasted 5 pieces of batard bread and served the chicken on top. The chicken was shredded as it was falling off the bone upon removal.

Chicken cooking in the dutch oven.

Chicken dish ready for judges.

With the first day over, we could now think about Sunday. Getting the first day out of the way and getting the nervousness gone was key. Sunday would be a more confident day. Our first dish for this day, wasn't due until 1:40pm. It was the Wild Card Category. The secret ingredient was... Spam! What in the world do you do with Spam? Make Spam Doughnut of course! We made a Spam Doughnut that was fried in oil in the cast iron skillet. It was then rolled in cinnamon sugar, drizzled with Maple Glaze, topped with a crispy piece of Spam, and then dusted with powdered sugar.

Frying the doughnuts

The Doughnuts prior to the cinnamon sugar.

Doughnuts done and ready to turn into the judges.

Lastly, it was time for the Fruit Round. The secret ingredient was Blueberries. We made a blueberry pound cake in the dutch oven. It was definitely tricky trying to keep the dutch oven at a constant temperature. But all in all, the pound cake turned out perfect. We made a blueberry chocolate fondue sauce. We decided to drizzle it on the cake rather than use the fondue pot as the cake was so moist, it may have fallen off the skewers. So it ended up being Blueberry Pound Cake with a Blueberry Chocolate Sauce with a dash of Paprika. You couldn't exactly the paprika, but it seemed to help cut some of the bitterness from the chocolate. It turned out great.

Blueberry Pound Cake

Samples for the Judges!

According to the score cards, the judges seemed to be pretty happy with all of our food. We won the Protein Category and the Wild Card Category. The Spam Doughnuts were a HUGE hit and we scored 99 out of 100 points! That was the highest scoring dish of the whole event. We ended up tied for first place! So what do you do when there is a tie? A sudden death cookoff round! We were given 2 more mystery ingredients. The only things they had left were... Jalapeno Pretzels and Beef Sticks. We agreed on 30 minutes and it would be a blind tasting. So we thought about it and finally came up with Spam & Beef Stick Croquettes. We removed the casings from the beef sticks, and processed them with the Spam to make a sort of Pate. We processed the Jalapeno Pretzels and added garlic powder, onion powder, and a few other spices. We formed the meat mixture into patties, dipped them in egg and coated them with the pretzel crumbs. We fried them in the cast iron skillet and drained them on paper towels. We still had a few minutes so we fire roasted a yellow pepper, seeded and pureed it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cream. So the dish became a Spam and Beef Stick Croquette with a Fire Roasted Pepper Cream Sauce! It actually tasted good and turned out pretty well!

Forming the patties

Adding the Pepper Cream Sauce

Ready for the Judges

We were done and just waiting for the judges to come and get our food. The other team needed more time to get there dish done, so we had to wait for them but it all turned out pretty well. The whole event went well and we had SO much fun. We are really looking forward to participating next year! It was probably the most I've ever been challenged in the kitchen.

The team and our winnings.

Showing off the trophies!

Karen and all the people who helped and donated deserve a round of applause. They really did a fantastic job and I know they had a lot of work and time in this event. It supported Kanzius Cancer Research. Next year, I hope everyone can attend and come out to support them. If you want to visit Duran's Store now click here. If you want to check out their Facebook page, click here.

Cast Iron Chef Challenge

Today we will be at the Waterford Community Fairgrounds for Duran's Down Home Days. We will be competing in the Cast Iron Chef Challenge where we have to make dishes to be judged. They can only be made over coals or fire and in cast iron cookware. There is a fan favorite category, so come out and vote for our food! If you can't make it today, it will also be tomorrow! Hope to see you there! Pictures will be posted for sure!

Farm-to-Table

Did you know that the average piece of fruit or vegetable travels around 1500 miles before it hits the shelves of your grocery store? They are harvested before they are ripe. Then packed away to ship to your grocer. Tomatoes are usually shipped green or just starting to ripen. This allows two things to happen. The first is so that when it arrives at the store and they put it on the shelf, it is just about ripe so can take it home and enjoy it. The second is so that they can ship it without damage. Imagine what would happen if you had a huge crate of tomatoes fully ripe. The ones on the bottom would be squished to smithereens. You are also robbing yourself of important nutrients. Nutrients, vitamins, mineral... All of them aren't fully developed and are lacking. Flavor is also usually compromised. Picking them before they are ripe doesn't allow them to fully develop flavor. This is why your backyard garden vegetables have so much more flavor than store bought. 

The “Farm-to-Table” Movement has been going on for some time now. The idea of growing your own vegetables and fruits has been around since the settlers starting farming. Nowadays, Chefs are buying local produce and meat, and using them to make delicious and nutritious dishes. 

By purchasing produce from local farmers and farmer's markets, you are supporting the local farmers and putting money back into the local economy. While stimulating the local economy and keeping our local farmer’s in business, we will rely less on big box stores. We can eat more flavorful and nutritious food.

You can also save money by growing your own. There are lots of vegetables that you can grow in your garden. If you don't have room one, grow a couple of your favorite veggies in containers on a porch or patio.

So plant a seed and grow your dinner!

Some local places to buy fruits and veggies...

Duran's Farms
http://www.duransfarmfreshproducts.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Durans-Farm-Fresh-Products

Finnell Farms
https://www.facebook.com/finnell.farms?fref=ts

Mason Farms
http://www.masonfarms.net/
https://www.facebook.com/masonfarms?fref=ts

Frank's Farm Market and Bakery
http://franksfarmmarketandbakery.com/Home_Page.html
https://www.facebook.com/FranksFarmMarketAndBakery?fref=ts

I know there are more places but these are just a few all over the area.