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The frightening thing is, Atkins wasn't the worst diet invention, Remember when every restaurants idea of a diet plate was a hamburger patty, a scoop pf cottage cheese and a slice of pineapple? The link below is the funniest look ever at 70s diet ideas and scary food styling.
Buche de Noel w/ Expresso Buttercream Icing
For cake:
6 eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup flour
¾ cup cornstarch
For icing:
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups expresso coffee
4 egg yolks
3 ½ sticks butter
Icing is made by beating egg yolks until light yellow in color. Next, cook sugar and coffee together over medium high heat to a temperature of 234 degrees. Then very slowly add sugar/coffee mixture to the yolks while beating at low speed until mixture is cold (if you go to fast, the yolks will curdle). Butter is softened at room temperature before it is cut into pieces and beaten into the cold egg/syrup mixture. Continue beating at low speed until mixture is very firm. Set aside in a cool spot.
Cake batter is made by adding sugar to beaten whole eggs then continue beating mixture over very low heat until it doubles in size (approx. 15 minutes). The flour and cornstarch are sifted together and gently folded into the mixture. The mixture is then poured into a well buttered half sheet pan and baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan while still warm and roll it up in a kitchen towel that has been sprinkled w/ sugar. Set aside to cool (a warm cake will melt the icing).
When cool, unroll the cake and spread ¼ inch layer of icing on the inside. Reroll the cake then cut off ends diagonally, each piece being about 1 by 3 inches. Place the cake roll on a cutting board wrapped in foil (the foiled cutting board was my serving platter, but feel free to use the platter of your choice) then spread a ¼ inch layer of icing on the exterior of the cake roll. The diagonal pieces are then placed on the top of the roll and spread w/ icing to resemble stubs of cut-off branches. Tines of a fork are drawn through the icing to simulate the texture of bark; the ends are marked w/ circles to resemble tree growth rings. Place the cake in a cool spot or refrigerate until it’s time to serve. One hour prior to service, remove cake from fridge and decorate cutting board w/ holly branches.
Chef’s notes:
The recipe from the magazine article was not very
specific regarding certain aspects of the preparation so I’m adding some info
for your benefit. For example, when making the icing, it is important to beat
the mixture until very firm, otherwise it will not be properly emulsified and will “break”. Also, when beating the cake
batter over heat I used a double boiler to prevent sticking and burning.
For a first effort, I think the final product turned out
fairly nice. I wish my mom and dad were around to sample it. I did have a group
of friends over for cake and champagne, and by the looks of it, they seemed
pretty satisfied!
Bruno wanted this posted during
the holidays but scheduling
prevented it.
"D"
My mom died 2 years ago December 13th
and my dad on April 25th, 1998. I
miss them both very much, especially during the
holidays. In their honor here is a special blog
entry.
My mom was like a Swiss Julia Child/
Martha Stewart combo! She was a great chef
(she trained in her home country of Switzerland
and in Paris, France) and would decorate
the house so nicely for the holidays w/
beautiful touches that made it festive.
I know my dad loved this
about her in addition to her excellent
cooking skills.
Two desserts that stand out in my mind around
Christmas are leckerli and Buche de Noel.
The leckerli were sent by my Swiss relatives.
They are a popular Swiss cookie
and there are 2 versions - one is made w/ honey,
the other w/ ground almonds.
Both are chewy and delicious!
My mom would make a Buche de Noel to celebrate
Christmas.In her honor I will attempt to recreate
the dessert from her recipe and eat it
in my dad's honor.
The chef notes and recipe will be in an upcoming
entry but in the mean time here are some photos
of my mom's creation (the photos from a
Dec. 24th, 1961 article in the
St. Louis Post Dispatch of my mom
preparing the Buche de Noel).
Happy Holidays,
Bruno"The Mayor"
A laid back dinner with friends doesn't have to be a bland affair,
when my friends get together.We decide that simple was the
word for the day: with that being said you know simple
will not mean boring.
The menu was to be a beef stew, lasagna and a salad.
Bruno aka "The Mayor" was in charge of the stew and with
all the flair that you would expect from the Flying Chef
he created the Heavenly Stew...
sirloin tip, butternut squash, garlic,
mulato chiles, morel and crimini mushrooms,
corn, cipollini onions, carrots, celery,
tomato, Swiss chard, leek,
bouquet garni for veggie stock and "red roux".
Byron made his world famous
10 layer Lasagna. Would it be
too much to call it bliss
in a pan?Hand made pasta so thin that
you would think it's parchment,
the finest cheeses and his own
special meat sauce.
The D.E.W. created a Salad with
an artistic flair
spinach,mixed field greens,
artichoke hearts,black olives,
portabello mushroom,eggs and
roma tomatoes
Wine & Sprits of the Night
Wines
-Schug 2004 Pinot Noir
-St. Supery 2000 Cabernet Sauvigon
-Terra Romana 2002 Cuvee Charlotte
-Bearitage-Lot#12 California Claret
-Silver Oak 2000 Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvigon
Spirits
*The Macallan 15/yo Fine Oak
Highland Single Malt
*Aberlour 15/yo Sherry Wood Finish
Highland-Speyside Single Malt
* Glen Garioch 15/yo
Highland Single Malt
*Montelle Framboise
Rasberry Port
*DOM B&B
Review & Photos by "D"
It was a beautiful day, bread was made and I declare it yummy!
| 3 | ounces Parmesan cheese , shredded on large holes of box grater (about 1 cup) |
| 5 | slices bacon (about 5 ounces), cut into ½-inch pieces |
| 1/2 | medium onion , minced (about 1/2 cup) |
| 3 | cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces) |
| 1 | tablespoon baking powder |
| 1/4 | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
| 1 | teaspoon table salt |
| 1/8 | teaspoon ground black pepper |
| 4 | ounces Gruyère cheese , cut into ½-inch cubes, or mild Asiago, crumbled into ¼- to ½-inch pieces (about 1 cup) |
| 1 1/4 | cups whole milk |
| 1 | large egg , beaten lightly |
| 3/4 | cup sour cream |
