Tag: Fruits And Vegetables

The Finishing Touch Of Cake Decorating

There are many ways to put a finishing touch on your cake decorating project. Sugar-frosted fruit and fresh flowers are very popular cake decoration garnishes. They will add a contrasting texture, and add color to your beautiful creation. Using these items will allow you to spruce up a plain cake.

Fruit

Using fresh berries for a garnish on your decorated cake are a colorful, and flavorful addition. You can roll them in sugar, glaze them, or use them plain. Placing fresh strawberries and mint leaves around the top of a chocolate cake will ad a splash of color. Orange sections, grapes, and strawberries glazed with shiny syrup, can be placed on the top of a cake for a beautiful, yet edible effect.

Dollops of whipped cream and fresh figs arranged tastefully on a cake can be quite appealing to the eye. Frosted whole fruit, such as grapes, seckel pears, small apples and figs are great cake decorations for late summer and fall weddings. Berries will last longer than sliced fruit, serve the cake soon after adding the fruit as it tends to bleed onto the frosting.

Flowers

The use of fresh, edible flowers in cake decorating, are a beautiful and easy way to make a cake more appealing. Starting with a cake dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or a frosted cake, and add flowers. There are many flowers that are edible, rose petals, sweet violets, honeysuckle, bachelor’s buttons, and callendulas etc… You might want to add a generous dollop of whipped cream to the center, or just off center, of the cake. Arrange the flowers around the whipped cream.

When you dust the flowers with super-fine sugar, the look is one of elegance and sparkle. Candied rose petals and candied violets are a wonderful cake decoration. Make sure the flowers you are using are edible, clean, and free of pesticide.

Nuts

Candied or toasted nuts are great on carrot cakes and spice cakes. Coarse or finely chopped nuts can be pressed into the icing on the sides of the cake, or along the bottom edge, for texture and flavor.

The use of fresh fruits and flowers will add an unusual and unique look to any cake. Cake decoration has become a more bold hobby or choice of career. You can open your own cake decorating business and cater to your friends, family. And community. Although it is time consuming, cake decorating can also be a fun and lucrative business.

Artistic cake decorators can just about name their price for one of a kind cake decorating creations. Of course this will all depend on where you are located. Cake decorators in New York City will be able to charge more than those in Jamestown. Of course there is also a cost of living difference, and a more sophisticated group of clients. No matter where you are located, offering unusual, unique cake decoration will put you on top and you will be in popular demand for the cake decorating needs of the majority.

What Mexico Eats for Breakfast

El Desayuno is known as Breakfast in Mexico. It consists of a hardy meal containing many colors, spices and flavors. Breakfast varies depending on the region. Some produce is not available in other regions. It also varies because of ethnic diversity. Breakfast dishes have a long history that dates back to the Aztecs and Mayans and also from Spanish rule for more than three centuries.

Tortillas are not just for dinner. You can find most people in Mexico eating them for Breakfast. The tortillas are made into burritos, tacos, and tostados. Beside the tortilla on their plate, are usually colorful fruits and vegetables. It is common to eat a variety for Breakfast. Vegetables include tomatoes, and red green peppers. Fresh fruits enjoyed at Breakfast are Watermelons, Oranges, Pineapples, and Strawberries. Plato de Frutas is a great breakfast dish that consists of many different fruits. It is pretty much what you would find a fruit salad. Some fruits in Plato de frutas are melons, bananas, mangoes, and sometimes papayas.

Eggs are also common in Mexican breakfast. A dish that has become popular in much of the Americas is Huevos rancheros. The name means eggs that are ranch-style. The most common version of the dish consists of corn tortillas that are lightly fried and fried or scrambled eggs with a chili sauce. Other foods that are typically added to the dish include beans, olives, avocados, and fried potatoes. Another dish that involves eggs is Huevos Motulenos. The eggs are made on tortillas and covered with tomatoes, beans, peas, ham, and chilies. A dish that doesn’t include eggs, but is seen during breakfast in Mexico is Chilaquiles. It is tortillas that are stir fried with onions, and spices and sometimes with added chicken. It is topped with cheese and served with a type of gravy sauce.

Mexicans love chocolate and enjoy it in the morning. You may be thinking of chocolate bars, but for residents of Mexico, it is to drink. The chocolate is thin discs that are put into water or milk and melted. People also add other ingredients that make it not the same as hot chocolate. This may include vanilla, cream, egg yolks, and cinnamon. Even though chocolate is a favorite, Mexicans still like having coffee in the morning like the rest of North America.

Mexican coffee is more light and nutty in flavor than Coffee in the United States with a touch of a chocolate taste. It is comparable to expensive brands of coffee in America. When drinking, it may leave a burnt after taste at first, but it becomes normal after a few more sips. Coffee is Mexico’s most popular morning drink.

If ever on a vacation in Mexico, try staying at a Bed and Breakfast. You will be served an authentic Mexican breakfast. If you do not travel, look in your local white pages for your nearest Mexican restaurants. Many of them serve breakfast items.

Another good way on trying breakfast Mexican style is by searching for recipes and giving them a try. Once you try the foods, you might just add them to your everyday morning!

Gourmet Cooking for Pleasure

Gourmet cooking is a style of food preparation that deals with the finest and freshest possible ingredients. This means that to enjoy authentic gourmet food you must prepare your food immediately after purchasing the fresh ingredients that will comprise your meals. Not only do you want to purchase the freshest ingredients when cooking gourmet meals but you also want to insure that you are purchasing ingredients of superior quality.

Those who excel at gourmet cooking and food preparation have many options available to them. From catering to opening up their own restaurant these talented individuals who are entrepreneurial in spirit often do quite well in the world of business if their talent is sufficient.

When it comes to cooking gourmet food the two rules mentioned above are the only hard and fast rules. Everything else is purely a matter of adventure and taste. Now this doesn’t mean that any and everyone can become a gourmet cook simply by going out and purchasing the finest and freshest of ingredients and throwing them into a pot. There is some degree of art involved when it comes to gourmet cooking and a large degree of skill that is necessary in order to achieve these culinary masterpieces.

You should also understand and be prepared to discover that fresh ingredients are not always available so there are times when compromises must be made when cooking gourmet meals. For this reason you capitalize on what is in season and plan your meals accordingly whenever possible. One important quality when it comes to cooking gourmet food is the layering of flavors. You should be able to taste the meat or seafood as well as the vegetables, herbs, and spices that comprise your skillfully prepared meal.

You should not however rely on taste or aroma alone when cooking gourmet foods. As I mentioned above gourmet cooking is a large degree skill but there is some degree of art involved. For this reason, presentation is a key component of the gourmet dining experience. Through a few freshly chopped herbs on the plate before placing the food or top the food with appealing and aromatic herbs that will compliment the flavor of the meal you have prepared. Present the fruits and vegetable sides in a visually appealing fashion rather than simply tossing them onto a plate.

With proper presentation even foods that were simple to prepare can take on the flavor of a gourmet feast. This is something you should keep in mind whether your cooking plans for the evening involve the gourmet or the every day. The thing about gourmet cooking is that it is to some degree more art than science. This means that there is always room to improve your skills and stretch your limits as a cook. There will always be the next great challenge or the ‘what if’ when it comes to flavor combinations.

In fact, some of the greatest foods began with someone asking, “What would happen if I added this?” Always ask what if and always seek to improve your skills. The good news if this is an avenue you wish to pursue is that there are often gourmet cooking classes offered at gourmet food shops in your area. Some colleges or local community programs will also offer these sorts of classes for a few if you are interested. This means that there are almost always opportunities to broaden your experiences with gourmet cooking and expand your horizons.

Whether this is your first time considering gourmet cooking or you are an old pro, keep in mind that skills can be learned over time with the proper motivation and an open and honest desire to learn. If you want to learn more about gourmet cooking there is really nothing to stop you from doing so other than yourself. The Internet, your local library, and many bookstores across the country have countless volumes of information that can help you get started on your journey to gourmet cooking bliss.

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Lombardy – The Other Side of Italian Food

There are many different factors that merge to create the style of Italian food eaten in a particular region of Italy. A great example of this is the Lombardy region. The land here dictates what ingredients are used in the Italian food and hence what type of dishes will emerge.

The biggest feature of this region is the vast plains. These plains allow for an abundance of cattle and these cattle greatly affect the type of Italian food found in this area. For instance, while most people think of olive oil in conjunction with Italian food, in this region butter is much more popular. There is also a lot of cream used in the food here; again not something most people associate with Italian food. These distinct differences from the general ideas of Italian food are due to the abundance of cattle found in the region.

Cheese is a very important ingredient in the Italian food here. One important cheese is the robiola. This cheese is part of the Stracchino family and is a soft-ripened cheese that is distinctly Italian. It is made from a blend of cow, goat, and sheep’s milk. The proportions of the different milks are distinct to different areas of the region and so it is possible to taste several different samples of the cheese, each with its own distinct flavor. Grana padano is also a very important cheese to the region. This is a hard, grainy cheese made from cows milk and aged anywhere from eight to twenty-four months. This cheese is important in the history of Italian food. It was invented by monks who used ripened cheese as a method of preserving extra milk. By 1477 this cheese was one of the most famous cheeses in the world and it certainly hasn’t lost any luster with the passing years.

Another distinct feature of this area’s Italian food is the use of single pot dishes. These are dishes which take less work to create and are therefore more popular amongst the working class of the area. Polenta is very popular as is rice. There are many different risottos that are common in the area as well as rice based soups. A popular version of risotto here is flavored with saffron. Another dish that is immensely popular and has made the region famous is its traditional ravioli with pumpkin filling. While ravioli is popular with Italian food lovers most have never had it with pumpkin filling. It is also served with melted butter and is often followed by turkey traditionally stuffed with stewed meats or chicken. True to the picture of Italian food the area boasts yet another unique pasta dish, this one with a twist as well. It is a dish of buckwheat pasta with potatoes, Swiss chard, butter, and Bitto cheese.

Of course you can’t overlook the importance of desserts in the Italian food of Lombardy. The region boasts a few sweet dishes. They make a traditional Christmas bread made with yeast dough and dotted with candied citrus peel, raisins, and candied fruits. An even sweeter Italian food creation is torrone. This nougat confection is made from honey, sugar and egg white. It is then coated with crushed, toasted almonds. The last unique dish to the area is actually a condiment made of boiled fruits seasoned with mustard. This region really does expand a person’s view of Italian food.

How To Make Candied Fruit For Cake Decorating

I remember my mother making fruit cake, she would use candied cherries that she would buy them in little air tight containers. They came in two colors, red and green, but they did not have the best taste. The candied fruit available now is much more beautiful and tastier than it was then. Trust me it isn’t just for fruitcakes anymore.

Making your own candied fruit to use as a garnish for dishes, in cookies, as a snack, and in cake decorating. Making candied fruit is a simple process. You infuse fruits and citrus peelings in a sugar syrup. You can candy orange wedges, orange peel, lemon peel, grapefruit peel, pineapple and fresh cherries. You can also candy fruits, such as carrots for carrot cake decorating.

You will need two sauce pans, one for making the syrup, and another to blanch the fruit. This is a recipe for Candied orange peel.

Simple Syrup

This syrup is used for making candied fruits, adding flavor to cold drinks, and adding moisture to sponge cake. There are different strengths of simple syrup for different uses. Thin simple syrup, made with 1 part sugar to 2 parts water, is used to brush on cake layers, mostly sponge cake, to provide extra moisture and sweetness. Medium simple syrup is made with equal parts of sugar and water. This is excellent for adding sweetness to mixed drinks, coffee, iced tea and to candy fruit. A syrup made of 2 parts sugar and 1 part water is used as a base for sorbet, and making rock candy.

Combine equal parts of sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. You do not need to stir the syrup, but if you do it will do no harm. You can flavor the syrup. Take the syrup off the heat and cool slightly. Stir in 1 or 2 tsp. Of vanilla for a basic vanilla syrup. This syrup can be kept in a lidded jar in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Remove the bottom and top of an orange. Set the flat end of the orange on a cutting board. With a sharp paring knife, slice the peel off in strips, starting at the top and slicing downward, following the curve as much as possible. Don’t worry about cutting off the white pith of the peel. Although it is usually bitter, blanching it will make it translucent and the syrup will sweeten it.

You can candy the peel as it is, or cut into strips that are 1/4 inch wide, to use in cake decorating and garnishes. You can also dip it in chocolate and use it for a snack. Larger peels, like grapefruit should be cut into strips for even cooking.

Place the peel in a pot of cool water. Bring water to a rolling boil, remove from heat and transfer the peel into a colander to drain. Repeat the process twice more. For grapefruit or a more tart flavored fruit, you will need to blanch them seven or eight times. Cherry and pineapple do not need blanching and can be placed directly into the syrup. Between blanching taste the peel, if it is tender it has been blanched enough. Place the peel into the pot of syrup and bring to a low simmer. Let simmer for 15 to 30 minutes or until the orange rind becomes translucent and the peel tastes sweet and tender

Remove the pot from heat and let it cool. The orange rind can be stored in it’s own syrup for weeks in the refrigerator. You may choose to drain them and roll them in sugar. Sugared rinds tend to dry out quite fast and should be eaten within a couple of days. You can dry the peel and dip it in tempered chocolate to make it last a bit longer.

You can use the orange flavored syrup in other drinks or dishes. Nothing really goes to waste!