LoveTheJourney

Degrees? Fahrenheit? Yes, you read right, friends. This custard is baked at an insanely hot 425. That’s almost unheard of for a custard, hence all the folks who emailed me last night to make sure I wasn’t drunk. Why are custards usually baked low? Of course to keep the egg proteins from clenching up and [...]

Folks must have been feeling mighty feisty last night, since I got several emails complaining that I left out the recipe for the fruit sauce. Oh, ye of little faith. Would I ever forget a thing like that? Don’t answer, it was a rhetorical question.
Fruit sauces can be easy or hard. I prefer easy, [...]

This bread pudding doesn’t just look pretty, those toast points have a function: to make the dish something more than just a mass of wet, sweet bread. This bread pudding is actually crunchy in parts, and that keeps every mouthful interesting. Serve this plain or with a sauce of your choice. Caramel is a classic, [...]

In France and in most food industry circles, the name Lenôtre is legendary. It stands for a man — an exacting and genial fellow who was both respected and loved — but also for a global empire of schools, pastry shops, restaurants and catering facilities. I think of him as the first truly modern master [...]

Is there an unsaid rule that bar cookies have to be heavy and gooey? Two weeks ago, we picked up a cup of coffee on our way to the park so that the little monkey could continue his path of destruction outside our apartment, and I fell for something in the bakery case called peach [...]

Such is the subject line of an email I received from reader Alek, who wonders why I have yet to write a critical review of Michael Pollan’s latest book, Food Rules. It’s the latest in a long series of emails I’ve received since the book came out in January. I’ll admit I’ve been tempted at [...]

Chef Laura writes:
I have never really understood the whole scald-the-milk-for-a-still-custard thing. I understand the neccessity for creme anglaise and pastry cream, but I don’t get the importance for baked custards. I scanned previous posts and didn’t see an answer to this. I have nothing in my notes from school. I have made bread pudding without [...]

Reader Katy asks:
Have you ever made Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding? It’s just a big stinkin’ pile of Krispy Kremes with yummy cream sauce over it. Uh….yum.

Never made it, never eaten it, but if some were put in front of me I wouldn’t say no (I like Krispy Kremes). I’ll also confess to you that I’ve [...]

Thanks for that excellent question, reader Cindy! In fact the word “stale” is akin to “aged”, but in a good way. “Ripened” is more like what it means. We moderns, addicted as we are to perfectly fresh bread, would scarcely think of applying a world like that to a past-its-prime loaf. But the ancients (and [...]

Though I’m not in the habit of giving plugs, the queen of gelatin desserts, Lourdes Reyes Rosas, will be coming to the States — to my old home town of Chicago — to teach some classes on gelatin dessert design. Lourdes Reyes’ skill with gelatin simply amazes me. If you haven’t seen her site you [...]