Tag: Celebration

Celebrate with a Sacher

image2The beauty of living in New York City is that I was often visited by friends, family and aquaintances from my home town in Italy. Mostly, we met for a coffee, dinner or some sightseeing. For some I opened the doors and welcomed them to stay, particularly if they were young women trying to find a foot hold in the Big Apple. One of them was who became my friend Bettina who came to stay for a few weeks and, among other things, also taught me how to bake. Bettina is a fantastic chef and became an extremely good baker after spending her childhood baking for the Cafe in her parent’s hotel. She baked numerous cakes and our favorite was the famous Viennese Sacher Torte. To this day, it’s what we bake for birthdays. This is how it’s done. Come and cook with us!

Don’t be overwhelmed thinking that baking a Sacher Torte is beyond your skill level. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you, as long as you follow these simple directions. Remember that everything has to be at room temperature, including butter, eggs and flour. Then, be gentle with your batter. It wants to be handled with care if you want it to turn into a light, moist and fluffy cake. Then, make double and triple sure that no egg yolk makes it into the egg white or they will not stiffen up. And lastly, believe in yourself as the cake will turn out to be delicious even if it might not look perfect.

I’m so thankful to Bettina for leaving this legacy of her stay. We celebrated my friend Dex’s birthday yesterday and what better way to surprise him than with a slice of Sacher Torte. Come and cook with us!

Sacher Torte

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Show Your Love with Strawberries

IMG_5664In case you missed it, Valentine’s day is upon us. Sure, there are lovely cards, fragrant roses and red knickers but what better way to celebrate your loved ones than with a platter of chocolate covered strawberries. They are what I call big-bang-for-the-buck desserts as they are easily prepared and go a long way in making a big impression. So come on, show your love with some Chocolate Covered Strawberries this Valentine’s. Come and cook with us!

First off, let me say that buying strawberries in February isn’t exactly intuitive unless you live in California where they seem to be growing year-round. And if at all possible, I buy the organic versions as per EWG’s Dirty Dozen Shopping list. My loved ones are partial to dark chocolate, but you can also do milk chocolate if that is what you and yours prefer.

The recipe itself is very easy and done in three simple stages: wash and let strawberries dry, heat chocolate and dip strawberries, let cool and decorate. That’s not too complicated, is it? There is only one thing you have to be careful about: make sure that no water droplets mix in with the melting chocolate or it will seize and change the consistency of your chocolate cover. Still yummy, but more like a ganache than a hard shell. And if you run out of strawberries, take some firm blueberries and dip them, too, for a fun little diversion from the more classic Valentine’s treat.

Take a look at the pictures below. They pretty much explain the whole process. Hope you feel inspired to shower your loved ones with a selection of chocolate covered strawberries this Valentine’s. Be loved! Come and cook with us!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Stoked for Chocolate (with Recipe)

photo 8What better occasion to talk about chocolate than this week! After all, it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow and while I don’t eat chocolate on a daily basis, I make exceptions. And this week is one of them. After all, chocolate in itself is not bad for you. At least not when you buy the right kind and eat it in moderation. Which is why I ventured into making my very own Valentine’s treat! Come and cook with us! Continue reading “Stoked for Chocolate (with Recipe)”