It’s that time of year. Everything starts turning pastel, baskets abound, and rabbits are allegedly handling eggs filled with candy cream. It is the Easter season and we are making Peeps. The first time I saw this I was working with an amazing pastry chef, Amanda Cook. While we had […]
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While exploring the streets of Mexico City I was treated to churros on more than one occasion. Typically they were stale and soggy, and the cinnamon was more spicy than enticing. When done right, however, churros can be a delicious and inexpensive crowd-pleaser.
There are times when you have to make something out of season at the request of the client. I always try to propose a more seasonal offering, but the customer is always right. This week, I am making strawberry ice cream just a few weeks too early. Personally, I prefer the […]
Crepes are one of the most versatile dessert components. There are standard crepes, crispy crepes, chocolate crepes, black pepper crepes – you name it. Crepes are a great vehicle for flavor and really demonstrate elegance in food. However, achieving a perfectly thin, even crepe batter that cooks quickly is no […]
Everyone loves empanadas. They are warm, flaky, sweet, salty, and typically filled with greatness. But, like the dessert pasta, what if we take them in a different direction? Instead of empanada dough – how about pineapple? Step one: buy really nice, ripe, juicy pineapples. A good trick to tell is […]
I know it seems a bit out of place. Dessert pasta? I love the idea. Soft, warm, supple pasta with a tender, sweet, rich filling. It’s the best dessert, and since it’s fresh pasta, it takes only minutes to finish. I like to make mine chocolate; but you could certainly […]
I enjoy things that are mindless, easy, and quick. I love how you can place an order online and within half an hour have something delicious delivered to your door. So this cake is near the top of my repertoire for how easy and fast it is. I can make […]
I recently had a wedding to cater. I do weddings fairly often, but generally the client orders the cake from a bakery and I’m only asked for dipped strawberries or a table of chocolate confections. For this wedding, however, the bride and groom wanted me to make not one, but […]
The commotion begins around 4 in the morning. Trucks are rumbling to a halt outside the window; people are shouting and the clanging of metal echoes through the otherwise empty street. The bars and restaurants closed only moments before, but the calm is quickly destroyed by the parking of carts […]
In honor of Nicolas Gilman’s recent article on Mexico City street food, I decided to revisit the blog I guest-wrote for my friend Luke’s blog while I was living in D.F. this summer. One of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, makes the joke that all Mexican food is the same […]
Today is an exciting day in my career – I got my first liquid nitrogen tank. I’ll be using it to make maple pecan ice cream for 200 on Superbowl Sunday. I start with a standard anglaise base of egg yolks, dairy, and sugar (in this case, maple syrup). The […]