Jacques Torres Cookies revisted

Combining the best of both worlds, I mixed the chocolate chip cookies recipe with the mudslide cookies recipe and topped it with a chocolate chip. It turned out wonderful!  :)

Here's the mudslide chocolate recipe....

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jacques-torres/jacques-chocolate-mudslide-cookie-recipe/index.html

and the chocolate chip recipe is right here...

http://sakurambokitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/jacques-torres-chocolate-cookies-nyc.html

Add vanilla ice cream between both cookies makes a wonderful ice-cream cookie. :)

Working with Sysco ...

One of the projects we are working on is to reduce the number of (same-type) products in our stock book to a minimum, and have all the hospitals purchase the same items. (for example, instead of having 20 varieties of potatoes, there will be 3 or 4 varieties...) A panel of people will taste-test the products to decide which is the best quality, taste and nutritional value. Sysco would bring the chosen products to the manufacturers and get bulk pricing for us. Here are some pictures of what we have tasted so far...


Lasagna, and sirloin beef...


Tomatoes, potatoes...


Meatloaf and hamburgers...


Various chicken products..


Salad dressing..


Jellos..


Mac & cheese..


The hope is to give our customers better pricing, or not increase prices even though we are hit with a 3 % infatuation increase every year. In this tough economy, we want to do all we can to be competitive and find ways to cut cost.... :)
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Graduation 2012

Few snapshots of this year's graduation...... :)

Carla's graduation @ La Sierra University..I did the above cake/ dessert set-up for her :)

 
 

 

 

Loma Linda University Graduation...

Congratulations graduates! :) You did it!

Vegan carrot muffins vs. regular carrot muffins (w/ eggs)

So, for those of you who haven't heard, flaxseed can be replaced with eggs!
I wanted to test it out on this carrot muffin recipe....so I made it twice, using the same exact ingredients, with the replacement of eggs with flaxseed mixture.
3 tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water= 1egg; let it sit for 5 minutes

I made the first batch with eggs, and when I finished making the second batch with flaxseed, the consistency was not as smooth as the first. Hence, I added 4 tbsp of soy milk.
Conclusion is: both tasted similar, vegan muffins were a little more moist than reg. muffins. It might be due to the extra soy milk.
So I have to post the recipe up because I promised some friends that I'd share it w them...
Ingredients:
3/4 cup ww pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6tbsp grounded flaxseed+ 6tbsp water
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 tbsp vanilla
11/2 cups shredded carrots
4tbsp soy milk
Opt: 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
-Preheat oven to 350F
-add first 6 ingredients in a bowl
-whisk oil, brown sugar, and flaxseed mixture, soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, and carrots.
-add dry ingredients, and mix until well combined.
-bake for 20 minutes
Vegan carrot muffins

Carrot muffins w/ egg


*edit post: it will look nicer if I have made some vegan cream cheese frosting, and placed a carrot -shaped fondant on top of the muffin.:)

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Sysco Spring Food Show 2012

Those who have been to the Sysco spring food show know what I mean when I say that I "ate until surfeited collapse". The food show is a showcase of many different cuisines and new products. As usual, I went with an empty stomach in preparation for the food attack.... 

I was not able to take pictures of all the food but appreciated the fact that I was able to enjoy the day immersed in a sea of food-lovers like myself.

 I like the idea of having the cake placed on top of a vase filled with the different types of food reflecting the flavor of the cake. So for example, the carrot cake had fresh carrot. Chocolate cake had cocoa beans and chocolate chips, Lemon cake had lemons in the vase...etc..

 Using mirrors to accent the display...

 

 A new breakfast product that I like:

 piano made out of chocolate...

 assorted chocolate products

 Herbal lemonade:
Ingredients: 3 gallons Lemonade, 4 oz dill, 4 oz mint, 2 oz basil, 3-5 sprigs rosemary, edible flowers to garnish.
~ Place herbs and lemonade in container. Add water to top and stir vigorously, muddling the herbs to release flavor. Let stand for several hours if possible. Add ice and serve. If more lemonade needs to be replaced, keep the herbs in the same containers all day. Mix and muddle! Replace herbs daily.

Demo of how beef is dissected :(

 

Also, there were many technological products for business to attract more customers. Another cool idea was to in-print the name and logo of any company/ event onto a disposable plate.

Looking forward to the next show! :)

my passing thought..

Cooking is an act of love, a gift to the person who eats it.

Food always turns out better when the heart and soul is in it. Anyone can cook a dish. A true chef cooks from the heart, personalizes it and that is what matters.

Earlier today, I cooked a dish in a hurry, without peppering it with love, and it didn't turn out right.

Love is never but a simple thing. It is so easy to forget how clearly it can be defined...
Love -is patient
Love -is kind
Love -it does not envy
Love -it does not boast
Love -it is not proud
Love -it is not rude
Love -it is not self seeking
Love -it is not easily angered
Love -keeps no record of wrongs
Love -does not delight in evil
Love -rejoices with the truth
Love -always protects
Love -always trusts
Love -always hopes
Love -always persevered
Love -never fails.
- Corinthians 13

Lord, help me to live out your definition of love.

Baking with the ladies

was such a pleasure and rare time for us to bond and chill. I used the Devil's food cake recipe that I got from the "Cake Making Made Easy" Chef Eric's culinary classroom class. Modified the recipe a little- added less sugar, used tofutti sour cream instead of yogurt and soy milk instead of milk. It turned out moist and delectable. It is definitely my keeper's chocolate cupcake recipe. We decided not to frost it to keep it simple and healthy.  

Ingredients:
4 oz Bitter or semi sweet chocolate
1.5 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1t baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 c soy milk
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
6 oz butter
4 eggs

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour the cake pans, or place paper liners of the muffin tin, if making cupcakes. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate chips in a bain marie, stirring until the chocolate is mooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool until luke warm. Sift the flour, baking powder. salt and soda into a bowl. Set aside.
Place the milk and sour cream in a bowl and whip until smooth. Set aside.
Use an electric mixer, cream the sugar, butter until well smooth. Add the eggs in one at a time. Add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth.
Add one third of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and then one third of the milk mixture. Make sure that the ingredients are incorporated before adding the next addition. Repeat until all the dry ingredients are added. Place the batter into the cupcake holder or cup cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes and let it cool for 15 minutes.

We made different types using the same batter- heart-shaped cakes, heart-shaped muffins, and regular round ones. :)

Happy Valentine's Day! :)