BLOG.GUARANTEEDGF.COM

Cooking Class Updates & Marshmallow Fondant

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:37:00 GMT

I'd like to thank everyone who attended this past weekend's FREE technique class: Cookie Baking and Decorating. As a reminder, this Sunday's class is all about Cakes and Cupcakes: from Baking to Decorating. The 12:00 PM class is already filled, but we've added an additional session at 3:00 PM. While the classes are free, it is important to sign up in advance so we can be sure to have enough samples for tasting. Please call the 59th and Lexington Ave Williams-Sonoma store to be added to the 3 PM class. The phone number is 917-369-1131.

Because I understand the unique challenges of a gluten free diet, I am personally preparing gluten free samples baked off-site in a gluten-free kitchen. This is a personal accommodation and not something that will be available at all Williams-Sonoma locations.

As promised, I'm including the recipe for the homemade marshmallow fondant (MMF) I used in class to decorate the sugar cookies. This recipe is easily made gluten-free by simply choosing a gluten-free brand of marshmallows . Making your own MMF is not only cost effective but it tastes far better than the brands of fondant typically available in crafts stores. Should you have any questions about the recipe or the techniques I taught in class, please don't hesitate to leave a comment on this blog.

Ingredients: as always, if you follow a gluten free diet, choose your ingredients carefully.

16 ounces mini marshmallows

1/4 Cup Shortening, such as Crisco

2 Tablespoons of water

2 Pounds of confectionery sugar

1tsp Clear vanilla extract

1 tsp Butter flavored extract

Grease a large microwave safe bowl with shortening. I use a Pyrex 8-cup measuring cup.
Add the marshmallows and water to the greased bowl
Microwave on high for 60 seconds; if needed heat an additional 30 seconds until the marshmallows have melted. Carefully stir the melting marshmallows between heating sessions. The molten marshmallow mixture will be very hot and can easily cause severe burns.
Add 1 1/2 pounds (1 1/2 boxes) of confectioners' sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Carefully add the marshmallow mixture into the confectioners sugar. Have the stand mixer knead the fondant until no longer sticky. Add the rest of the confectionery sugar as needed to produce a product that is not too sticky, but don't add too much or your fondant will be too dry.
I have learned to let the MMF rest for at least one hour prior to the final kneading; it makes the whole process easier on my hands! Just put the MMF in a heavy duty zip top bag with as much of the air squeezed out as possible. After the resting period, I knead the fondant briefly by hand on the Roll-and-Pat silicone mat you saw me using in class. Made correctly, this is the best tasting and easiest to use fondant I've worked with.

I've been too lazy to video tape the MMF process, but thankfully other people have posted their videos. Here is a link to a video that most closely resembles my method. The recipe is just a bit different from mine, but the videos are very good in showing you the technique.

Part I of the Tutorial:

Part II of the Tutorial:

If you are going to color the fondant like I did in class, use gel or paste colors for the best results.

Happy Decorating!

I just can't wait to share the cute cake and cupcake decorating tips I've prepared for this Sunday's class!

Will the Jets Ride the Colts to Victory?

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:16:00 GMT

This will be a short post since I don't want to miss any of today's game. Every year I look forward to serving a few family favorites on Super Bowl Sunday. If the Jets win today there will be even more reasonz to serve up a feast - LET'S GO JETS!!

What are your some of your favorite Super Bowl eats?

Turkey Bondage

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:21:00 GMT

Happy Halloween. I hope you enjoy this day dedicated to all things frightening!

I've been called into work to cover for a sick colleague and one of the most important things I'll be doing today is preparing the turkey for tomorrow's technique class Let's Talk Turkey. So this post is dedicated to one of the most frightening things related to cooking turkeys - the lack of knowledge about trussing!

Here is a great video to help you prepare a beautiful bird: Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment!

Linus and The Great Pumpkin

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Yesterday I taught the Knife Skills Technique class at the Williams-Sonoma near my home on the upper East side. I really appreciated seeing familiar faces in the nice size crowd huddled around the cook top eager to learn and taste whatever goodies we produced as a result of the lesson. For some, a chicken recipe might seem like a strange conclusion to a class titled "Knife Skills", but the journey seemed logical to me, but then, that might be the issue - it's logical to me!

As a result of this class, I produced a lot of vegetables in a variety of shapes - crudité anyone? Of course, you can't teach knife care and maintenance without discussing cutting boards - use the wrong surface and you'll never be able to keep your knives in good working order. And of course I'd be totally remiss if I didn't discuss cutting board sanitation!!

By now I hope you can see it isn't much of a leap from knife skills to a chicken recipe. We ended class by showing off one of my favorite boards for raw foods; it's the best of all worlds for safely working with raw animal products – it looks good, doesn't warp, has two usable sides, it feels more like wood under my knife than most options but, and here's the big one, it's able to be cleaned and sanitized like only a non-wood board can be, in a dishwasher. Mike, I hope you'll get to read this and can follow my logic - crudités plus chicken can only add up to one thing - the bar food favorite - spicy chicken wings!

It's chilly here in NYC today; it definitely feel like fall. So whether you're planning to settle in tonight to watch Dancing with the Stars or the Jets on Monday Night Football, there's no need to wait with Linus for the “Great Pumpkin” to appear; with this recipe you can make a Great Pumpkin recipe appear anytime. Pronounce it Pea-Con or Pea-Can, either way, when you serve my fun, tasty and healthy seasonal spin on traditional wings, you'll score one in the win column .... even if your team is a no show in the winner's circle.

Linus's Great Pumpkin Pecan Wings

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs Chicken wings (or wingettes)

Toasted Sesame seeds to garnish

Sauce:

1 jar of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter

2 small lemons

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T minced fresh ginger

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T Gluten Free low sodium Tamari sauce
(if NOT GF, you can use low sodium soy sauce)

1 T Worcestershire sauce

Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine Pecan Pumpkin Butter, the zest and juice of both lemons, garlic, ginger, Dijon mustard, Tamari,and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl (you'll need one big enough to hold all the chicken too). Let the flavors in the sauce develop while you work on the rest of the recipe. Add hot sauce (optional) to taste just prior to tossing it with the chicken.

Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil. (I like the non-stick variety)

Cut off wing tips; save for stock or discard if you don't make your own stock. Cut remaining wing into two parts at joint. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the wing sections on the foil-lined pan. Do not crowd the pan - there needs to be some room between each wing to render out the fat so they will get crisp.

Bake wings, approx 25-30 minutes (internal temp 165°F). The juices need to be clear when you cut into the wing all the way to the bone.

Carefully add the cooked wing sections to the bowl with the sauce.

Toss chicken and sauce, coating well.

Place sauced-wings back on the foil lined pan. Broil for a few minutes JUST to heat the sauce and crisp the edges for the perfect finish.

Remove from pan, arrange on a platter and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds to garnish.

Serves 4 (or 2 hungry teenage boys)

I never cease to be amazed at how much my teenage son can eat and stay so slim!

Practice your knife skills by serving these with perfectly cut vegetables; top-off the presentation by adding the tomato rose you learned in class to the platter!

NOTE: The Pecan Pumpkin Butter used in this recipe is available at Williams-Sonoma (hint: take advance of the special pricing when you buy two at the same time) as well as directly from Muirhead Foods in Ringo, NJ. A quick call to Muirhead this morning confirmed that their product is gluten free. They told me that they received so many calls on this subject that they are planning to add that information to their website and perhaps even the label. I can't tell you how much I appreciated their commitment to "wholesome ingredients using no added preservatives, gums, or colors" and telling me that their spices are pure, meaning no-anti caking ingredients have been added.

I'd love to get your comments on this recipe. Don't be shy - leave me a comment!

Saying Goodbye to a Culinary Icon

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:33:00 GMT

I've always thought it was lovely that some languages don't have an exact translation for the word goodbye. I like the sentiment behind phrases like, 'see you soon' or 'until we meet again'. Goodbye is so final, but goodbye is what it must be for a magazine that has been the source of culinary inspiration for so many, myself included. Condé Nast, publisher of Gourmet Magazine, just announced it will be closing the doors on this publication plus three others. They will be missed.

Fall into Comfort Food

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:18:00 GMT

As a New Yorker, I “go to the beach” when I lived in New Jersey, I went “down the shore”. In either location Labor Day meant the end of the summer. Using that logic, if summer was over, Fall had begun. In reality, Labor day occurred weeks ago but yesterday was the official first day of Fall and I for one am glad it's here. Warm days, cool nights and low humidity – what’s not to love about Fall. But for me, Fall means comfort food and that makes me VERY happy!

In a recent conversation with a client, I found myself in the middle of a soliloquy extolling the virtues of a perfectly roasted chicken. When I hear the all-too-often phrase, “Not chicken again!”, I cant help but wonder how we have gotten to this place. I have enough chicken recipes committed to memory that even as often as I serve it, my family has never said, “What, chicken again?” Chicken does not need to be your family's Groundhog Day.

My students have heard me say, “Think technique, not recipe”. By mastering techniques, you will never be at the mercy of a recipe again. Today's recipe is a family favorite that required only minor adjustments to make it Gluten Free and the technique used in this recipe is one you'll use over and over again.

Pollo alla Cacciatore (Chicken Cacciatore) is a “hunter” style braised dish. The dish probably didn't start out as a chicken dish but over time as fewer families relied on a hunter for their meat, chicken became synonymous with this dish. There are as many recipes for this dish as there are Italian grandmothers; this is the one I grew up with. Back then, my mom cooked it in a large cast iron skillet. I use a large “everyday” pan which can be brought to the table for an informal meal.

Pollo alla Cacciatore (Chicken Cacciatore)

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken pieces (I suggest thighs, but if you prefer white meat, use free range split breasts)

½ C olive oil

¼ C FINE brown rice flour

¼ C potato starch

1 small onion, diced

¼ C carrot, chopped

¼ C Celery, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ C dry wine*

1 28 oz can San Marzano crushed plum tomatoes

1 bay leaf

3 springs of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Strain the tomatoes through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve both the pulp and the liquid.
Pat dry the chicken pieces – damp meat won't brown!
Salt and pepper the chicken
Mix the potato starch and rice flour together
Dredge the chicken into the flour/starch mixture, shaking off the excess
Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan
Brown the chicken in the hot oil on all sides. Do not crowd the pan – the chicken pieces should not touch each other while browning; work in batches if necessary. It MAY be necessary to add more fat to the pan as you go along. Do not over do it, you are NOT deep frying the chicken.
When well browned remove the chicken pieces to a plate; they will be added back into the pan later.
Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pan, stirring often, cook for about 5 min. Add the garlic and cook another 1- 2 min. Do not let the garlic burn.
Add ½ cup of wine to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce by half. Lower the heat to bring the sauce to a simmer.
Add the canned tomato pulp. Taste the sauce: salt and pepper to taste.
Add the parsley, bay leaf and thyme.
Add the chicken to the pan and add ONLY enough of the reserved tomato juice to cover the chicken. Cover the pan.
Keep and eye on the volume of liquid. Add more liquid, if necessary, to keep the chicken barely covered.
Cook 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Serve over polenta, rice or your favorite gluten free pasta.

*A note about the wine. This recipe has been changed over time. Originally it called for white wine, but growing up we rarely had left over white wine, so red wine was used. I like it either way. Use what you like. Just don't use wine that you wouldn't drink since the flavors will be concentrated during the reduction process.

Pesto: No Recipe Required

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:10:00 GMT

Teaching classes for Williams-Sonoma's customers is one of the things I love most about my job. This past Sunday I had the opportunity to teach a technique class on Olive Oil. The difficult part is that I never know how many people to expect, their level of knowledge or their expectations. That is the challenge that drives me to find the best way to both meet the class objectives - the reason Williams Sonoma is paying me - and to find a way to relate the subject so it has relevance for the participants, whomever they might be.

When I teach a technique class, it's just that, and NOT a recipe class. If it were a recipe class I'd hand out copies of a recipe and walk people through how to make that dish. What I hope to do is teach you something that you can apply more generally to your cooking. I want you to play with your food; to experiment with flavors, textures and techniques to arrive at a style that suits you.

William-Sonoma's goal for this class was to educate customers as to why extra-virgin olive oils are special and when to use them. My goal for the class was to effectively show the diversity of olive oil by sharing not only a savory dish but also showcasing olive oil's sweeter side by sharing a family recipe for Sicilian Olive Oil Cake. Lifestyles here in Manhattan are very different from those in the sprawling suburbs where I spent my youth. I'm the oldest of 5 and most of my friends were also part of what would be considered a large family here in Manhattan. I wanted to see if I could come up with a dish would work for both large and small families as well as singles. Williams-Sonoma "required" a pesto dish for the class and suggested serving it on crostini. While I love the delicacy of a Genovese style basil pesto, I was hoping to do something a little different and combine it with one of my favorite staples - pasta.

Sometimes life just decides it's time to cut you a break and apparently Sunday it was my turn. The ingredients necessary for the cooking class were not in the store’s refrigerator as I had expected. So a quick trip to the market was in order. I was told to get basil and whatever cheese I’d need to make the traditional pesto from the recipe I was handed, but when I got to the market they were out of basil! I didn't have time to go to another store, so I happily picked up some parsley and arugula to whip up my favorite pesto.

Before I give you the recipe for this pesto, I wanted to share a bit of information about this wonderful sauce pesto. The passage below was copied directly from the Williams-Sonoma website:

Originating in Genoa, in the Liguria region of Italy, pesto is an uncooked sauce made from fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese and olive oil. Pesto is traditionally prepared by hand using a mortar and pestle (pesto, from pestare, means to pound). Back in the days of seafaring merchants and explorers, sailors knew they were almost home when they smelled the sweet scent of basil wafting from the hillsides above Genoa, where the aromatic herb flourishes.

Today, pesto is made with a variety of other ingredients besides basil. Roasted red bell peppers, arugula, mint and olives are all wonderful foundations for the sauce, as you will discover with the recipes featured here. Often tossed with cooked pasta, pesto is also delicious served on crostini, spooned onto grilled seafood or chicken, or tucked inside steaks before cooking.

There are two very different reasons why I love arugula pesto - first, I love the peppery zing of arugula (translated this means "rocket") and the second reason is a practical one. Basil is a tender herb and turns rapidly from it's lovely natural green state into a blackish mess rather quickly. I was a single mom for a while and had to watch every dime. Basil doesn’t hold up in the refrigerator and was way more expensive than other items I could use. I started substituting other greens for basil more than 15 years ago and I’m not about to stop anytime soon!

Baby spinach also makes a lovely pesto and was a great way to get greens into my young boys. The three of us didn't finish a pound of pasta for dinner (thankfully they weren't teens yet!) and I found that other greens remained appetizingly green the next day making it a welcomed cold lunch for me the next day.

Why bring up these points? If you happen to be single or only cooking for two, it's great to cook a whole pound of pasta and not have to cook again the next night or worry about what you'll bring for lunch - especially when you work a lot of hours or it's too hot to cook like these past few days.

So before I give you my arugula recipe. promise me you'll experiment with other herbs and leafy greens! The TECHNIQUE remains the same no matter what greens you choose.

I’ll mention that I don’t usually measure, unless I’m baking, so all these measurements are approximates. I always use a mini food processor to make pesto, but if you have the time/energy to use the traditional mortar and pestle, more power to you.

Family Friendly Pesto

Ingredients:

Approx 3 oz by weight or 2 cups by volume - baby arugula - washed and dried in a salad spinner

1 large bunch flat leaf Italian Parsley - washed and died in a salad spinner

2 to 3 T of Pine nuts

2 to 3 cloves garlic depending on size and your tastes

Juice of 1/2 a large lemon

1/2 cup – ¾ Cup of a high quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil *

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup shredded Pecorino cheese

1/2 cup of reserved pasta water or home-made salt-free chicken stock**

1 pound pasta of your choice

Technique:

In a 4 cup mini food processor place equal amounts of arugula and parsley leaves (tender stems are okay – but avoid using the tougher “main stem” of the parsley) in the bowl

Add the garlic cloves, lemon juice and about 1/4 C olive oil.

Pulse the food processor until the leaves are reduced to a fine mince.

Add both cheeses and approx. another ¼ C olive oil

Continue to pulse, add olive oil if necessary to get the desired consistency

Toss the pesto into well-drained pasta while the pasta is still warm.

This is also delicious served cold as a pasta salad.

Feel free to toss in cubed left over roasted chicken to change things up.

* My favorites are Organic Ravida from the Southern coast of Sicily (described as intensely green in both color and flavor, slightly fruity with a hint of almond, finishing up with a sharp pop of pepper at the end) or the Nicolas Alzieri from the south of France (described as buttery, fruity (lemons and apples), with some light grassy notes reminiscent of artichokes)

** Since good extra virgin olive oil is very flavorful and not the least expensive of items, I tend to add my own homemade chicken stock in place of any additional oil to achieve the consistency I like when dressing pasta. This also serves to save a few calories. Should you choose to use chicken stock be sure your not adding a lot of extra sodium since the cheese is plenty salty!!

As mentioned in class, a thicker pesto is lovely served with either meat or fish. Try it instead of butter on a baked potato. I also “stuff” it under the skin of a chicken prior to roasting so it can flavor the meat. In a thinner preparation, with cilantro, it makes a great marinade for steaks.

If you took my class, I hope I succeeded in helping you gain some new appreciation for olive oils, especially Extra-Virgin Olive Oils and when you think pesto, I hope you’ll think technique, not recipe. I encourage you to find your own combinations and your favorite ways to serve this delightful sauce.

Meeting my Deadline: Missing my Deadline

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:23:00 GMT

I love teaching classes and doing demos for Williams-Sonoma not only because it allows me to share my knowledge with others but because I meet so many interesting people. I promised the folks from this past Sunday's class that I would have a post done by this evening which would include some recipes from class.

I knew I would be busy all day Monday and out until nearly midnight, but at the time I thought I would have the entire day today to ponder my entry in the comfort of my air conditioning until the heatwave was over. My life rarely goes that much according to plan and today was no exception. My morning began agreeing to add something else into my plans. A simple request; a special item for a client to surprise her young relative who can't eat gluten. Yes, she'll be arriving this afternoon. How could I refuse? So on went the oven and out I went into the heat. I won't go into all the details save to say, the cake was delivered on time, but the promised blog post wasn't so fortunate.

It will however be posted by late evening tomorrow.

All-American Summer

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:09:00 GMT

I'd like to thank everyone who attended the cooking class this past Sunday (All-American Summer) at the Williams-Sonoma store in Chelsea. I had a wonderful time and look forward to working there again in the future.

The baked beans recipe was not in the handout, but can be found on the WIlliams-Sonoma website. As promised, I've posted it here for your convenience.

Although this recipe calls for a 6 qt. electric pressure cooker, it can easily be adapted for a stove top model. For safety reasons, be sure to follow the directions for your particular make and model.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried pink or pinto beans
8 cups water
1 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs. dark molasses
2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup brown mustard
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crispy and chopped
into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions:

Pick over the beans and discard any misshapen beans and stones. Rinse the beans and drain.

In an electric pressure cooker, combine the beans, water and the 1 tsp.salt. Cover and cook on high for 50 minutes according to the manufacturer's instructions. Release the pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the beans and their liquid to a large bowl. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the brown sugar, molasses, dry mustard, brown mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Stir in the bacon.

Strain the cooked beans into another large bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Add the beans to the onion mixture and stir to combine.Slowly stir in 2 to 2 1/2 cups of the reserved liquid. Set the Dutch oven over low heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1hour. Partially uncover the beans and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has thickened, about 30 minutes more; do not allow the liquid to evaporate completely.

Serve immediately**

Serves 8.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

** For the class, we made the baked beans the day before. They were reheated in a 350 degree oven for one hour just prior to the class.

Picnic in Central Park

Stacy@GuaranteedGF.com (Stacy) — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:52:00 GMT

Picnics are all about portable food items that can be easily served cold and no picnic is complete without a sweet dessert. By that definition, cupcakes are perfect picnic food. I've been working on a new recipe and it was finally ready for a big public debut. Today in Central Park I handed out 150 mini cupcakes to the loyal fans "on the hill" that regularly gather to support my friend David Ippolito's music. The cupcakes disappeared so fast that I didn't have a chance to get any pictures, but I think this recipe is a real winner!

More details to come!