Patty

Eatable Flowers

Jul 102006

I have always liked flowers. I vividly remember when I was about five years old my parents came back from Paris and my mother had purchased sugared flowers from Fauchons. At the time I thought this was one of the coolest things ever. Flowers are an easy way to decorate a dish, use them in a dessert or a salad. In f act, there are a group of flowers that are edible.

Here are a group of edible flowers:

Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Cornflower, Daisy, Gardenia, Honeysuckle, Lavender, Marigold, Nasturtium, Pansy, Peony, Rose, Viola, Violet.

Sugared Flowers
Coat petals with frothy egg whites and then cover with super fine sugar, let dry on a rack

Fresh Cookies All the Time

Tips, Terms & Tools 2 Comments »

Jul 072006

Cookie batters usually make upwards of about 50 to 60 cookies per batch. This many is usually not necessary for me as much as I would love to eat them all. Take an ice-cream scooper and scoop out all the batter into desired cookie sizes and freeze them in an air tight container. Now they are all ready to be baked, whenver you want, so you can have a fresh cookie every night!

Nectarine Pancakes and Blueberry Sauce

Recipes No Comments »

Jul 042006

I love brunch. This past holiday weekend I spent it with my girlfriends at the beach. On Sunday morning I made everyone breakfast and this is what I served. We had the best time catching up, eating, and drinking mimosas. If you are not a fan of ginger it can easily be excluded from the recipe.3 Cups of Flour
1/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 Cups of buttermilk
2 teaspoons of ginger zest
1 1/4 Cup of Butter ( 1 cup melted other 1/4 cup is reserved for cooking pancakes with)
3 nectarines, diced into small pieces

Mix all dry ingredients together and then mix in liquid ingredients. It is okay if the mixture is not entirely smooth. Heat pan with butter and pour a third of a cup of the batter in pan and then sprinkle with nectarine pieces. Cook till golden brown.

Blueberry Sauce

2 Cups of Pure Maple Syrup
2 Cups of blueberries
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

In a sauce pan combine all of the ingredients and cook until blueberries begin to burst. This should be about 5-7 minutes.

This sauce would also be great with a pie or just plain vanilla ice cream.

Watermelon Daiquiri

Drinks 1 Comment »

Jun 302006

As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, I think a fun festive drink is in order! Two years ago, on the 4th, I made these with some friends so I always think of them around this time. Unfortunately, this year, my weekend will be cut short as I have to go to work on Monday. But I hope the rest of you enjoy a festive long weekend!

8 Cups of Watermelon cut into cubes and frozen (ice cube size)
juice of 4 limes
1/4 Cup of Sugar
8 oz. of white rum

Make sure watermelon is completely frozen. In a blender blend all of the ingredients together and ready to serve. It probably is best to split this up and make this in two to three separate batches. Depending how thirsty you are this will make between 4 to 6 drinks.

Spilling Wine

Tips, Terms & Tools 2 Comments »

Jun 252006

I don’t know about you, but I have definitely experienced the embarrassing moment when I have spilled a drink while at a dinner party. If you are the host, keep the guest at ease because they already feel awful. This is not going to be a problem. With red wine it is important to act quickly, so do not wait until dinner is over. Dab up all of the wine and then sprinkle it with salt. Usually, it is ones first instinct to grab club soda but never with red wine. Just cover the spot with a cloth and continue the rest of the evening!

Homemade Marshmallows

Make Your Own, Recipes, Sweets No Comments »

Jun 232006

In specialty stores lately, I have seen homemade marshmallows being sold and this intrigued me. I had never really thought about making them because I would always just buy a bag of them from the grocery store. So I thought, “why not? This could be fun and I’m curious!” Plus it is summer and this could make the average s’mores even better when by the camp fire. Overall I found them pretty quick to make and that they tasted better the next day.
1 cup cold water
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Powdered Sugar to coat the Marshmallows

Vegetable oil to grease the pan

Cut a piece of waxed paper to line the bottom of a 9Ã—13 inch pan and grease the sheet and sides of the pan. (This can be more easily done by inverting the bottom of the pan cutting the proper size sheet)

In a mixing bowl place 1/2 Cup of water and the three packages of gelatin. In a pot add sugar, corn syrup, rest of water over moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved and comes to a boil. At this point you may turn the heat to high and with a candy thermometer bring the mixture to 240 degrees (soft ball stage) It is key when making candies to make sure get the temperature correct otherwise the candy does not come out well. It will either be too soft or too hard.
Once it has reached 240 pour the mixture in mixing bowl and beat for about ten minutes on high. Mixture will be come white and fluffy add vanilla at this time.
Now pour the marshmallow into greased pan and spread evenly. Let stand for about five to seven hours before cutting.
When cutting into desired sizes grease the knife and keep cleaning of the marshmallow. After marshmallow cubes are made, lightly coat them with powdered sugar and keep in an air tight container.

When making these I decided to dip some of them in melted chocolate and it was very tasty.

Place Cards

Tips, Terms & Tools 4 Comments »

Jun 192006

I realize that some people think that place cards are too formal. It is my belief, though, that at a dinner party of more than six people they are integral to the success of the evening. There are always many kinds of personalities; some are talkative and some are not. The key is to have everyone participating and engaged in conversation. Although it has to do with the people that are attending, it also has to do with where they are sitting. For example, it is not wise place two talkers next to one another.

If you are at a party where the hostess used place cards, ahdere to them because most likely there was a reason for them. There are plenty of fun ways to be creative with them too!

Iron Chef Burger

Ideas, Make Your Own No Comments »

Jun 152006

Summertime is always a great time for barbeques. Hamburgers are one of the simplest pleasures. How about making the ordinary hamburger party a little more festive by making it a competition of who can grill up the best burger? That is what happened on the balcony of this upper eastside apartment. Evan and Lee brought the best they had to offer in the intense â€œBurger Off.” I had no idea at the beginning just how competitive a burger contest could be. The judges were friends from both sides, so in fact it was great way to merge two groups together in a fun interactive way- where food is the focus, but there is an element of friendly competition. As each judge gave their comments and votes, by secret ballot, Evan emerged as the winner with his thick and juicy burger on a brioche role. (his secret recipe unfortunately cannot be shared)

For the next time- Rules need to be established up front and agreed upon. But all in all the first burger off was quite a success.

When are Potatoes Done?

Tips, Terms & Tools No Comments »

Jun 062006

When boiling potatoes for either mashed or simple boiled, it is key to know when they are cooked all the way through. The easiest way to tell is to stick a knife in the potato. If it does not slide off easily then they need more time.

In Memoryâ€¦

Etiquette 3 Comments »

Jun 022006

Recently, my grandmother passed away; before she died I was fortunate enough to spend some time with her.

There were a few things she said to me about our generation and waning manners: #1 opening of doors for women has gone to the way side and #2 she was saddened by the fact that it is no longer instinctual to say: “yes maâ€™am” and “no sir.”

These are just some thoughtful ideas to remember for the future. I wish I had more time to spend with her; she was a wealth of knowledge with one of the most incredible minds I have ever encountered.

Older Entries Newer Entries