Gummy Candies
Fresh, juicy, plump. Not the first words that come to mind when thinking about gummies, but those words best reflect this recipe for orange candies. The liquid and flavoring can be replaced with...
View ArticleFaux Fluffernutter Sandwiches
This past Sunday we had a party at our apartment. Most of the guests were from the Marion Street Cheese Market in Oak Park. I created a few hors d’oeuvres with cheese from the store. This is faux...
View ArticlePomegranate Fluff
This is a variation of honey whip made with pomegranate molasses. The fluff is made from mostly spiced pomegranate molasses but the key ingredient is a soy protein branded under the name Versawhip...
View ArticleSweet Potato Profiteroles Stuffed with Pomegranate Fluff
This is a simple flavor combination but a real treat. I used my pomegranate fluff and filled my sweet potato profiteroles with it. The photos were taken by my brother Justin. Check out his Flickr...
View ArticleFoodbuzz 24,24,24: A Steakhouse Dinner Reloaded
My contribution to Foodbuzz’s January “24, 24, 24″ blog marathon is “A Steakhouse Dinner: Reloaded.” I selected four traditional steakhouse dishes and decided to update them with 21st century cooking...
View ArticleSpicy Salted Caramel Chocolates
This is a result of my recent foolings around with candy making. Last week I impulsed purchased some candy molds at a cutlery shop in Chicago. I tempered some dark chocolate using Mycryo, a freeze...
View ArticleButtered Popcorn Ice Cream
A few weekends ago it was 50 degrees in Chicago, which was like a day in paradise considering how brutal this winter has been. To celebrate I made ice cream. Of course it’s not your ordinary ice cream....
View ArticlePalmiers
You’ve all probably seen these cookies in the grocery store or at quality bakeries. Sometime called “elephant ears” these crisp and buttery sweets are made from puff pastry. Puff pastry is a rich and...
View ArticleRoot Beer Marshmallows
Regular readers of my blog will know that I’ve had a recent obsession with marshmallows. I first realized how simple marshmallows are to make. Then I realized the versatility of this simple candy with...
View ArticleCranberry-Orange Tart with Orange Fluff and Candied Ginger
Jacquie helped me concoct this tart that combines three of my favorite flavors: cranberry, orange, and ginger. The crust is an orange páte sucre made with plenty of fresh orange zest. The tart crust is...
View ArticleAlmond Macarons with Coffee Ganache
These are classic Parisian macarons I that made with Jacquie and Heather. These are sandwiched with a bit of coffee flavored chocolate ganache. The outside of the macaron is an eggshell-thin crust...
View ArticleOrange and Fennel Páte De Fruit
Páte de fruit (pronounced pot-de-fwee) are a classic French confection. They’re made with fruit puree and set with pectin which gives this candy a tender and smooth texture. The possibilities for...
View ArticleMore Fun With Macarons
Here’s an assortment of macarons for your viewing pleasure. They are: Raspberry:Sprinkled with a dehydrated raspberry powder and filled with raspberry preserves Blackberry:Sprinkled with dehydrated...
View ArticleStrawberry Páte de Fruit
The perfect looking strawberry is bright red and unblemished with a vibrant green top. The perfect tasting strawberry is dark and usually not so pretty to look at. Unfortunately most people think...
View ArticleChocolate Covered Potato Chips
My girlfriend Jacquie made these delicious chocolate covered potato chips. Covered in dark chocolate with piped white chocolate, these treats provide a perfect balance of sweet and salty. Jacquie used...
View ArticleStrawberry and Basil Sorbets with Balsamic Syrup
Strawberry, basil, and balsamic vinegar are fantastic together. Basil and balsamic vinegar are perfect for but underutilized in desserts. The light drizzling of balsamic vinegar provides a tart...
View ArticleCranberry, White Chocolate, and Walnut Cookies
These monster cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. White chocolate, dried cranberries, and walnuts add nice sweet, tart, and bitter flavors. Here’s the recipe for about 15 2 oz....
View ArticleGinger Spongecake with Caramelized Pineapple and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream
Jacquie and I based this dessert on the flavors of caramelized pineapple, ginger, lime, and toasted coconut. The pineapple is briefly seared in caramelized sugar then poached in a syrup of lime, rum,...
View ArticleOrange Vanilla Tart
The orange dreamsicle is the inspiration for this mousse tart. Orange and vanilla create a frozen popsicle treat that’s as satisfying as it is classic. Those flavors have been upped a few notes here....
View ArticleCandied Orange Zest
The orange is actually two fruits for the price of one. The sweet juice and the bitter zest both have unique tastes and a myriad of applications. All too often, however, we use oranges and discard the...
View ArticleYogurt and Poppy Seed Sorbet with Cantaloupe Soup and Mint Pesto
The semi-sweet and refreshing flavors of yogurt, cantaloupe, and mint combine to form this chilled summertime dessert. In the bowl is a cube of yogurt and poppyseed sorbet with just a hint of lemon...
View ArticleFruit Cobbler
Warm fruit cobbler is one of the best treats of summer. The sweet, warm, cooked fruit underneath a crunchy oatmeal crust is incredible topped with vanilla ice cream. In the summertime here in Chicago...
View ArticleCider and Doughnuts
Fall in the midwest brings loads of apples. Hundreds of varieties, from Granny Smith to Red Delicious, stream from the orchards to groceries and farmers markets. With the excess of doughnuts comes...
View ArticleCherry-Raspberry Orbs and Spherification
A very popular technique in modern fine dining is spherification. This technique allows us to encapsulate a liquid, such as cherry and raspberry puree, inside of itself. The key players are calcium and...
View ArticleCheesecake
Click for High Resolution Image Believe it or not, this is cheesecake. The flavors are all represented here in differing textures and (arguably) bizarre forms. The meat of the dish is a very light...
View ArticlePumpkin and Cranberry
The sweet flavors of fall shine in this rich dessert. On the right is a spiced pumpkin ice cream sandwiched between two slices of chocolate stout cake. The cake has only a mild chocolate flavor and the...
View ArticleA Trip to The Movies
I love popcorn. I always keep plenty of popcorn kernels, popping oil, and popcorn salt around so I can eat the warm, salty treat any time, day or night. Months ago I spent a day off from work playing...
View ArticleCelery, Raisin, Peanut
As a child the only way I would eat celery was covered in peanut butter and plastered with raisins. Chefs are notorious for jumping around between ingredient infatuations and currently I can’t get...
View ArticleVanilla Marshmallows
Marshmallows are so easy to make. They can be flavored with just about anything too. These are vanilla marshmallows, flavored using whole vanilla beans. Made from scratch, marshmallows are fluffier and...
View ArticleTiramisu
Your coffee service this evening may look terribly conventional. Indeed it is a cup of coffee with whipped cream and an Italian cookie. But in what forms are all these elements? The coffee is actually...
View ArticleEat Your Vegetables…For Dessert
We eat vegetables almost exclusively in savory dishes. Many vegetables, however, are naturally sweet and have intense aromas which work exceedingly well in desserts. I wanted to create a dessert...
View ArticleBeer and Pretzels
Beer and pretzels go together like peas and carrots. Both beer and pretzels play starring roles in this dessert. The dish starts with a chocolate stout cake. It’s the same cake recipe I used in my...
View ArticleMexican Mochi
Mochi Ice Cream is a Japanese dessert of ice cream coated in a sweet glutinous rice dough. Mochi is creamy, chewy, sweet, and conveniently portable. This is a hand made mochi incorporating mexican...
View ArticleSummer Nectarines
I recently bought some beautiful nectarines at The Independence Park Farmer’s Market. They were so sweet and pungent I wanted to do something very simple. I cooked the nectarines sous vide with...
View ArticleBlueberry & Granola: Health Food Gone Terribly Right
Blueberry and Granola Blueberries and granola, flaxseed and low fat yogurt. Sounds disgusting doesn’t it? Only because we’re used to eating healthy foods compressed into a cardboard tasting granola-bar...
View ArticleDonut Ice Cream with Coffee Shortbread and Rainbow Sprinkles
Donuts are amazingly versatile and there are no rules with this sweet American favorite. This is another transformational recipe: Donut ice cream. Ice cream is infused with donuts and then frozen...
View ArticleI Scream…You Scream…
Many months ago I wrote a business plan for an ice cream shop to be eventually filed under my “Keep It Simple Stupid” file cabinet. The idea was a shop that would feature incredibly simple flavor...
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