The Quest For A Blue Ribbon: Here is how your journey begins...

Well, here it comes........the beginning of the Fair season.  A time of creative thinking in overdrive.  A time for no sleep, the need for silence around the house, to "think" and create recipes, a time for reflection on what works and has not worked for chemical integration over the past year in my experimental baked goods and main dishes.  Needless to say, the family knows my routine and has already resigned to not sampling the goodies until they have approval (to save extras for browning or cracking emergencies) and that they will have to basically eat out and fend for themselves for days on end, every few weeks for the next 4 months.

I know that I will average 4 hours of sleep a night for the next week, repeated every 3-4 weeks, for the next few months.  I will have sore feet and an aching back.  I am getting exhausted just writing this entry!  However, throughout this entire experience that I will venture on now beginning in June, throughout October, I will be happy, full of emotional energy, at my creative peak, and desirous of the ultimate goal.....A Blue Ribbon you say?  Well, those are nice, but the REAL satisfaction is the pure joy of setting a goal and accomplishing what I set out to do.  For instance, baking 38 items in 3 days or creating something that I have never tried before and it wins "Best of Show" or even just the feeling that I experimented in many Divisions of the Culinary Arts.  In either case, I am elated and every year, feel just as excited, as if this was my first attempt at competing in the Home Arts or Culinary styles.  This blog post is created for those of you who have asked me about my journey and what information is needed for one's quest for a Blue Ribbon.

DAY ONE

Fresh lemons are absolutely essential for premium flavor and baking.  I am lucky to have a wonderful girlfriend and neighbor, who lets me pick lemons fresh on the day that I intend to bake.  I could swear that these lemons are the magic in my blue ribbon lemon recipes!!  Make sure that you choose bright yellow, shiny skinned, fabulous smelling, fresh lemons.  Remember-fresh off of the tree is best!

 

Organizing your flour is as important as organizing your flavorings, herbs, salt and other dry baking ingredients.  Also, purchase premium ingredients for the maximum outcome.

Here I am in full "hair out of the way" mode, baking away.  Oh, did I mention that one important step in preparing for the Blue Ribbon journey, is to be distracted with your daughter's last days of school, by baking 80 royal icing sugar cookies for open house!!  Who would be so crazy to do this project, when it is fair season?  Oh, yes, that would be me--upon the request of my daughter's middle school teacher.

 

One secret is to prepare multiple items at once, by utilizing your mixers, ovens, double boilers and grinders in a synchronized, multiple recipe way.

 

Finally, I have completed one of my first baked goods for the non-yeast division:  Here is my fresh out of the oven, orange bread.  All that is left to do, is to touch up with the orange zest glaze.

Now, my zesty lemon popover muffins are finished baking and waiting for their final touches for judging.

Okay, it has been hours now, and my back is really feeling the strain!  The secret for stamina...........are you ready?  Solicit your 11 year old daughter to give you a back massage.  I will tell you that it REALLY IS WHAT I NEED at this point!

After the back massage, it was essential for me to get in the creative mode again.  After 6 hours of the ovens being on non-stop, it was time to let them rest.  The next thing that was important for me to do, was to get back in touch with the family and leave the house for a back to school night for my daughter.  After all, she took time out of her afternoon to give me a back massage!

Well, enough of a break....seriously, I am back home from the open house for 5 minutes, and I realize that my cheesecake thumbprint shortbread cookies need to be prepared and baked.  Time is ticking away and I still have 2 days left to bake.

While I put the shortbread cookies in the oven to bake a second time, I prepare my chocolate cakes, bake them and let them cool, for a transformation into an amazing torte!

Now that I have 7 items finished, I start to line them up on one table in the order of their decorating, refrigeration and frosting (or final touches) stage.

DAY TWO

It is definitely time to review my Fair entry log and decide which items are needed to be baked for ultimate freshness and decorating quality.  After I take my two daughters to school, I start to organize my day of bread making and other items.

 

Oh, here I go again....giving you some of my baking secrets....but, that's okay.  I am a college professor by profession and it is in my nature to "teach" and "inspire" when possible.  I hope to inspire you to always use fresh yeast, oils and other ingredients.  This just seems obvious to me when entering a culinary competion.

I LOVE my food scale.  It really makes a difference in my flour quantities when I am transposing and creating a new artisan bread recipe; based off a european ingredient recipe.

 

On my quest for a Blue Ribbon, I absolutely insist on using the fresh wheat that I personally canned at the cannery in Los Angeles.  So, my point is, that I canned the wheat, ground it and then baked an old world/artisan whole wheat bread with its beautiful silky texture.  It doesn't get any better than that for pure quality of ingredients, freshness and taste!

   My personally canned whole wheat kernels.

My Wheat grinder!

The whole wheat interior!  Voila! The beautiful final result of grinding to produce the flour for my whole wheat artisan bread.

Here is that favorite scale of mine!  I looked for one like this for a year, then something magical happened! I found one at an estate sale for .50 cents!!!  It is made

in England and is my good luck charm.

Notice the pink?  That is another ingredient to help me on my journey.....some pink himalayan salt. I am pleased to say that both of my loaves of honey wheat bread were created and baked successfully, while I was preparing my other yeast bread shown below (my tomatoe, cheese, basil loaf).

Ahhhhh....the smells of homemade bread permeating throughout the house!!!  The ovens have now been on for over 12 hours!

 DAY THREE

I feel so much better at this point, knowing that a few of my breads are finished. I can now focus on the caramelized pecans for the filling and topping of my Mocha Rocha Torte Cake.

I then begin the process of tempering my chocolates and preparing one of my ganaches for my delectable Mocha Marzipan Brownies.

I start the first layer of ganache and let the chocolate cool for the final drizzles and decorating.

I then take my prepared filling out of the refrigerator and fold in those caramelized pecans, etc. to make the final preparations for my torte cake.  I am loving the final results.

I carefully layout  three varieties of my cookies to decide which would be the first to be wrapped and packed.

I decide that my Mocha Marzipan Ganache brownie turned out just the way that I had planned it to turn out. I save one for my daughter's teacher.

I bake the last loaf of my braided cheese bread and wonder if it is a winner or if I should start another loaf.  Then, I remind myself that I don't have another 3 1/2 hours to spare, so I decide that this loaf is perfect.

PACKING UP AND OFF TO THE FAIR!

One important note:  How you pack and who you take with you to turn in your Fair entries is critical to transportation success!  Imagine what you would do if your 6 hour torte cake collapsed or fell, because you did not pack the cake properly.  For this event, I competed with one of my dearest girlfriends.  She drove and helped me organize the torte.  We drove all the way to San Diego, so the minvan was perfectly orgainzed for the long haul!

Here is my sweet girlfriend Elizabeth, her daughter and me.

On this Blue Ribbon quest, making sure that all the information on the entry forms is completed and that I have the proper placement of my entries into their appropriate classes and divisions, is so critical in the judging process.  I take some time to thoroughly go over my 14 entries, one last time.

Packing the ice chest with dry ice is very important to keep what items need to be cooled or at the correct temperature. Getting everything organized before presentation to the fair is important.

 I am so excited to put on the finishing touches to my Macademia Nut White Chocolate Cake.

The macademia crunch that I created adds a unique touch.

Now, for getting the Mocha Rocha Torte out and cut for turn in! 

I simply can not leave one corner un-examined.  I put on the final homemade chocolate spirals as a garnish and check for imperfections.

Oh, by the way.......here's another must have........it is essential to have two strong, healthy, male volunteers to help you transport 14 items!  But, don't forget to carry your own torte and cake!  Wheel movement is not going to be your ally.

After a total of 6 1/2 days of thinking, planning, shopping, creating, baking and traveling, the final baked goods are now turned in and ready for professional judging. 

My feet are sore, my back is aching and I suffer from only surviving on 9 hours of sleep in 3 days.  However, I am running on adrenalin, creative prowess and realize that my vacation is only a few days away.  I keep imagining how it will feel to get into that jacuzzi at the hotel and reflect on my quest for a Blue Ribbon and that every second of this journey was worth it!   Your journey will have similarities to mine if you, too, are on the quest for your own Blue Ribbon. 

A St. Patricks Dinner!

For this past St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make my annual family dinner of corned beef, homemade cole slaw and roasted baby potatoes.  For dessert, I made a contemporary version of Irish Soda Bread.  The first thing I needed to do was make the Soda bread, so it had time to cool.  I started in the morning and the end result is photo #1.

My next task was to prepare the corned beef roast.  I prepared it with all of it's seasonings and baked it for 3.5 hours in the convection oven setting.  While it was "resting,"  I decided to prepare the cole slaw.



I wanted to use a new recipe, so I created a buttermilk, vinegar dressing, which I think was absolutely perfect with the texture and cut of the cabbage.  Our family tends to like the cole slaw on the savory side, so I reduced the amount of honey, so that it was not too sweet.

The next item on the menu that needed to be prepared was the roasted potatoes.  I used small red ones this year and bascially used a simple sea salt, fresh cracked pepper and olive oil spread to baste on the potatoes before roasting.  The final touch was a swirl of spicy mustard, which was perfect!



Here's to another Happy St. Patrick's day!

Birthday Celebration-My Chocolate Ganache Spiced Torte Cake!

I tried something different for my birthday this year....I baked my own cake!  I had really been wanting to try a new recipe that I had reviewed in Gourmet Magazine.  I knew that I did not want to be baking, a 3 layer torte, all day in the kitchen, with three various types of chocolate, on my birthday.  So, I had to start the day before.  I have found that starting to create a cake, a day ahead of time, actually seems to work best in producing an amazing cake; especially with putting the french buttercream, and ganache together.  I feel that this method allows the cake to really saturate the flavors and keep it moist. I learned this trick from a bakery that I used for years; for my daughter's amazing show stopping birthday cakes.  Surely, they would have been featured on Ace of Cakes or Cake Wars today.

But, on the morning of my birthday, I was treated by 6 amazing women (girlfriends of mine), to a birthday breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants.  So, I enjoyed playing and connecting with the girls, instead of baking!

I also, knew right after my massage and movie (an annual tradition that I treat myself to every year--a movie by myself), that tempering three types of chocolates would be a major feat before dinner.  So, I chose not to be a perfectionist, to be relaxed and save the major detailed touches until the next day.  I was glad that I waited, because I had the joy of having my 11 year old daughter help me form the chocolate through the pasta machine.  It really was a two person task!  So, here is the final result....

Working the double white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate ribbons involved much artistic finesse.  I am very glad that I waited to enjoy my birthday cake until the day AFTER my birthday.  Sometimes, doing something different to acknowledge an event is more excting.  So, I  will always remember my Chocolate Ganache Spice Torte Birthday Cake, presented and eaten the day after my birthday.

Spring Cream Pavlova Meringues

I attended a women's church social last week and decided to prepare a dessert that would reflect the theme of spring time:  Nest shaped meringues, delicate enough, yet a large enough portion size  to leave you satisfied.  I knew exactly what I would make........my Blue Ribbon winning Russian Cream Pavlova Meringues! 

According to pastry chef extraordinaire Shuna Fish Lydon, The late Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, for whom the Pavlova dessert was named, was said to have been ethereal, delicate and slightly controversial. "Her namesake, this simple confection, is a straightforward enough list of ingredients, but the end result is all about touch, finesse. It has attracted more than its fair share of controversy. Two distinct neighboring countries take credit for invention and creation. For the sake of staying neutral, we will say both New Zealand and Australia are to blame for the delicious Pavlova; an edible translation of sugar turned into cumulous clouds, it is one of the best low fat vehicles for seasonal fruit, whipped cream, sorbet, and ice cream."

The recipe is fairly simple.  The hardest part of the preparation, is the wait........the anticipation to bite into the delicate, yet soft cream filled center.  The center is filled with creme fraiche and lemon, that just completely, perfectly, works so well together, that at the moment you take the first bite, your mouth feels as if it has arrived in heaven!  The creamy center is topped with a trio of fresh organic berries.

The first photo shows the meringue batter, having been whipped for about 10 minutes, before being put on the baking sheet and parchment for a very low bake @ 200 degrees.  They remain in the oven to puff and lightly crack for @ an hour to an hour and a half.

I made the size of the meringue nests smaller to accomodate enough serving sizes for this social.  The baking duration in the oven duration will be shorter.  I prefer to add a touch of color to my meringues and for this women's event, I added a touch of pink.  If you can obtain a color via natural sources, that is always the preferred method.

Once baked, I  let the meringue nests cool for about 30 minutes.  During their cool time, I began the creme fraiche preparations in the mixer.  After whipping the cream mixture, I added the pink color and then prepared the meringues.



The finishing touch was the trio of berries placed on top, with a scant dusting of gold and pink sanding sugars. I have won First Place with this recipe in numerous venues and Fairs in California.  I knew I was on to something special with this recipe when this dessert was a big hit at my cousin's Bridal Shower.

For the final touch and connection to a Russian-feminine type of theme, I used a trio pastry stand with ornate black crystals, reminiscent of the beauty and grace of Russian dancer, Anna Pavlova.   If only we were all so lucky to have a pastry named in our honor!