Miss Devil
12-12-2012, 10:10 PM
Gingerbread men with the smell of something god awful, but in the end, the gingerbread man comes to life; with a witty smile, clever eyes, and some punctuality in his way of dress. Though it is the time of gift giving and delicious sweets, including my person favorite, ribbon candy; a sugar sweet pulled at high temperatures to create a work of art, one can’t help but get a craving for what’s cooking, and I know for a fact that the best places on this part of the world starts with a bit of love and care.
First things first, what are you cooking? Personally one of my family’s favorites is several different casseroles, so this will be making an appearance on my family’s table, even if I am not there to witness it, which this year I am sad to say I won’t be there to witness these traditions. A casserole is a French term meaning a large sauce pan. But for me it is a pan that is covered with a pie like crust and filled with meat and vegetables and filled with some starch. It can consist of many different fillings but are always covered in a flakey crust covering the outside of the filling.
And don’t get me started on the desert aspect of the dinner. My family goes all out and I really do mean we go out to my aunt’s house in order to feast our eyes upon something that can only be described as awe inspiring. Why would we leave our house to travel the six houses just to eat desert? Well my good friends and fellow bloggers, we doe this because the deserts it’s self takes up the kitchen and the dining room and the living room. When I said it was awe inspiring I wasn’t kidding. The kitchen consists of pies and a lot of them. We have pecan, apple, coconut, banana cream, pumpkin, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, and so many more.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0w34oqvcv1qmg986.gif
Tips for pies: I know that when it comes to my family we pre-bake a lot of our pies and then reheat the pie the day off, my tip for pies is that if you are going to reheat your pie you should take it out and let it sit at room temp for at least an hour before popping it into the oven. Why? Well, because you don’t want to cook your pie, you simply want to heat it up. I would only suggest heating it up with pies that have a fruit filling, mmm yum. When it comes to making a crust keep your butter cold. This will insure that your pie crust is flakey which is what you want for a pie crust but it will be easy to mold.
The dining room has all the cakes, too many to really sit here and name but there is on three tier cake that I have been making with each layer a different flavor. The top is red velvet with a cream cheese frosting filling, the middle is yellow with a coconut and raspberry filling and the bottom is a chocolate with a chocolate and pecan filling. The frosting is butter-cream, and it depends on how creative I am feeling when making the cake. Some years I have gone all out and some years well… it could have been better.
http://savorysweetlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/buttercream-frosting2.jpg
Tips for butter-cream: I do not use shortening. I personally just don’t like the texture and flavor of it. I always use butter. I personally use one pound of butter to a pound and a half of confectionary sugar (10x) and then two tablespoons of heavy cream also can be called (whipping cream). Do not and I mean do not cut the sugar. Why? Because you will get a sense of what butter taste like raw and to some people that is fantastic to most it’s absolutely appalling. Vanilla is up to you. I personally would not add a lot of this because it changes the color of the butter-cream. If your butter cream is a yellow in color this means you over worked your frosting. You can NOT go back from this color. So please watch your frosting when mixing. Also another tip for butter-cream having the butter very very very soft before you start mixing and scrape the bowl BEFORE adding the milk. Make sure everything is properly blended before you add the milk and the vanilla. The milk will cause the butter-cream to lighten I usually mix them for 3 minutes in order to get the texture I want. Do not and I mean do not mix your milk with your vanilla why you wait. Why? Are you stupid or lack a brain? Vanilla has alcohol in it which can cause the milk to curdle or go bad; thus, the reason why we do not mix them.
http://data.whicdn.com/images/35071891/tumblr_m8tlb5ZFyo1rw8rduo1_500_large.gif
Tips for cakes: Okay you have baked your cake and are ready to decorate it but you are silly and didn’t cut off the top of the cake to flatten it! Silly you, don’t worry even my stepmom still does this. Don’t you ever wonder why the cakes we sell in bakeries are so flat? That doesn’t happen over night nor does it have a special recipe to get it that way. You cut off the top. I know showing huh? The left over cake scrapes always get used. I personally make cake pops at the bakery I work at which are a huge hit with middle scholars, and high scholars. And then I decorate with either fondant or butter-cream. Now moving on, how do you get a filling inside of a cake? If you are attempting to make a three layered cake you cut your cake in thirds you are cutting horizontal. If you are using a filling that isn’t what you are covering the cake with make sure you pipe the outline of the cake. This will insure that your filling doesn’t come onto the outside and onto the actual cake.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m910bsK6kM1rcou6fo1_500.jpg
Tips for cake pops: I personally find that using left over cake and butter-cream is the best method for making this. There are machines you can use to get the cake the size and shape but you don’t get that creamy blend of sweetness in my opinion. Please use an ice cream scope of a reasonable size to scope the “batter”. Then freeze until they are firm. Many people use candy melts seeing as I work in a bakery I use white chocolate add just a bit of shortening and then food coloring. Candy melts are basically the same thing and cheap and easy to get. You can get them at any store that sells baking products. I decorate with fondant, butter-cream and sometimes chocolate.
Finally in the living room there are platters of cookies. This doesn’t really stay the same, but there is a large variety, such a chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate with white and dark chips, and so many more. I literally can’t and don’t feel like getting into my family’s taste in cookies. But I do know that they are fantastic.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0r0or0A7P1r3ytt5.gif
Tips for cookies: You must always remember that when you take a cookie sheet out of the oven it does continue to cook until the pan has cooled. Thus if you want a more gooey cookie take it out early before it starts to brown. If the edges of a cookie are browning that is a good sign that the cookie is done baking.
I will update this as I get more ideas. If you need any tips just ask! I don't bite.. Hard ;D
First things first, what are you cooking? Personally one of my family’s favorites is several different casseroles, so this will be making an appearance on my family’s table, even if I am not there to witness it, which this year I am sad to say I won’t be there to witness these traditions. A casserole is a French term meaning a large sauce pan. But for me it is a pan that is covered with a pie like crust and filled with meat and vegetables and filled with some starch. It can consist of many different fillings but are always covered in a flakey crust covering the outside of the filling.
And don’t get me started on the desert aspect of the dinner. My family goes all out and I really do mean we go out to my aunt’s house in order to feast our eyes upon something that can only be described as awe inspiring. Why would we leave our house to travel the six houses just to eat desert? Well my good friends and fellow bloggers, we doe this because the deserts it’s self takes up the kitchen and the dining room and the living room. When I said it was awe inspiring I wasn’t kidding. The kitchen consists of pies and a lot of them. We have pecan, apple, coconut, banana cream, pumpkin, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, and so many more.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0w34oqvcv1qmg986.gif
Tips for pies: I know that when it comes to my family we pre-bake a lot of our pies and then reheat the pie the day off, my tip for pies is that if you are going to reheat your pie you should take it out and let it sit at room temp for at least an hour before popping it into the oven. Why? Well, because you don’t want to cook your pie, you simply want to heat it up. I would only suggest heating it up with pies that have a fruit filling, mmm yum. When it comes to making a crust keep your butter cold. This will insure that your pie crust is flakey which is what you want for a pie crust but it will be easy to mold.
The dining room has all the cakes, too many to really sit here and name but there is on three tier cake that I have been making with each layer a different flavor. The top is red velvet with a cream cheese frosting filling, the middle is yellow with a coconut and raspberry filling and the bottom is a chocolate with a chocolate and pecan filling. The frosting is butter-cream, and it depends on how creative I am feeling when making the cake. Some years I have gone all out and some years well… it could have been better.
http://savorysweetlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/buttercream-frosting2.jpg
Tips for butter-cream: I do not use shortening. I personally just don’t like the texture and flavor of it. I always use butter. I personally use one pound of butter to a pound and a half of confectionary sugar (10x) and then two tablespoons of heavy cream also can be called (whipping cream). Do not and I mean do not cut the sugar. Why? Because you will get a sense of what butter taste like raw and to some people that is fantastic to most it’s absolutely appalling. Vanilla is up to you. I personally would not add a lot of this because it changes the color of the butter-cream. If your butter cream is a yellow in color this means you over worked your frosting. You can NOT go back from this color. So please watch your frosting when mixing. Also another tip for butter-cream having the butter very very very soft before you start mixing and scrape the bowl BEFORE adding the milk. Make sure everything is properly blended before you add the milk and the vanilla. The milk will cause the butter-cream to lighten I usually mix them for 3 minutes in order to get the texture I want. Do not and I mean do not mix your milk with your vanilla why you wait. Why? Are you stupid or lack a brain? Vanilla has alcohol in it which can cause the milk to curdle or go bad; thus, the reason why we do not mix them.
http://data.whicdn.com/images/35071891/tumblr_m8tlb5ZFyo1rw8rduo1_500_large.gif
Tips for cakes: Okay you have baked your cake and are ready to decorate it but you are silly and didn’t cut off the top of the cake to flatten it! Silly you, don’t worry even my stepmom still does this. Don’t you ever wonder why the cakes we sell in bakeries are so flat? That doesn’t happen over night nor does it have a special recipe to get it that way. You cut off the top. I know showing huh? The left over cake scrapes always get used. I personally make cake pops at the bakery I work at which are a huge hit with middle scholars, and high scholars. And then I decorate with either fondant or butter-cream. Now moving on, how do you get a filling inside of a cake? If you are attempting to make a three layered cake you cut your cake in thirds you are cutting horizontal. If you are using a filling that isn’t what you are covering the cake with make sure you pipe the outline of the cake. This will insure that your filling doesn’t come onto the outside and onto the actual cake.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m910bsK6kM1rcou6fo1_500.jpg
Tips for cake pops: I personally find that using left over cake and butter-cream is the best method for making this. There are machines you can use to get the cake the size and shape but you don’t get that creamy blend of sweetness in my opinion. Please use an ice cream scope of a reasonable size to scope the “batter”. Then freeze until they are firm. Many people use candy melts seeing as I work in a bakery I use white chocolate add just a bit of shortening and then food coloring. Candy melts are basically the same thing and cheap and easy to get. You can get them at any store that sells baking products. I decorate with fondant, butter-cream and sometimes chocolate.
Finally in the living room there are platters of cookies. This doesn’t really stay the same, but there is a large variety, such a chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate with white and dark chips, and so many more. I literally can’t and don’t feel like getting into my family’s taste in cookies. But I do know that they are fantastic.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0r0or0A7P1r3ytt5.gif
Tips for cookies: You must always remember that when you take a cookie sheet out of the oven it does continue to cook until the pan has cooled. Thus if you want a more gooey cookie take it out early before it starts to brown. If the edges of a cookie are browning that is a good sign that the cookie is done baking.
I will update this as I get more ideas. If you need any tips just ask! I don't bite.. Hard ;D