Bakeries On The Rise

 One of the best dreams as any home baker can have is owning their own bakery. This is happening for several  whether they've baked at home or in a well known restaurant. There is a golden age of bakeries happening and it's coming with delicious results.

New comer , food journalist Meghan McCarron who has won a James Beard award along with co-producing the web series Queer Table wrote this interesting piece in Christmas Day's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Smaller bakeries are having a Renaissance. More and more former pastry chefs are opening them up in such diverse areas from big cities like Los Angels to smaller ones in Parker,Colorado. Most of these are not in well known areas like New York's Soho. Some like Poulette, are in Parker Colorado, in a strip mall, Others have evolved from pop up kiosks to small brick and mortar places. Unlike eateries , bakeries really don;t require a lot of space. There's no need for a dining area. A few tables inside and out will suffice. There's no need for a big staff, unless the place branches out to other locations.Also being in such diverse areas brings good pastry to those who never would have had access to this. This is the case of Poulette where  vanilla bean spandauers Danish pastry filled with either custard or jam are favorites of the local Little League team.Locals are ordering honored Bretagnes for birthday parties.

Other pastry chefs nationwide are also reaping the benefits.Some like  Elaine Uykimpang Bentz and her partner moved from Chicago to Cincinnati to start a restaurant. SHe didn't want to bake however her pandemic pastries got such a following the only course going forward was opening up a patisserie.This trend has also been beneficial to obsessive home bakers who want to pursue their dreams. Jesus Brazon the owner of Caracas Bakery started at home with his sourdough loaves. It took a few tries before he [perfected the recipe. After baking success he started to share his loaves with family and friends. A friend with a restaurant asked him to bake loaves.He thought he could have a part time business selling just coffee and rolls but figured he might as well devote his whole time to running a bakery, He did have help from his chef father Manuel who taught him to make French style pastries. Now he has three locations. Another baker,Peter Mitchell, co owner of The Sour in South Dakota, He started as a corrections officer and watched enough YouTube to become a baker, Some like Deborah Yee trained in restaurants like French Laundry before starting her business.

Bakeries are enjoying a golden age. People want good croissants wherever they are. It could be a big city or a country town. 

A Very Delicious Christmas

 Hopefully all my readers worldwide had the same delicious Christmas I had ( big thanks to Lidl for the sides and desserts - yum and Shop Rite for the Gardein turkey

The best Christmas gift is a good Christmas meal !!! HOpefully everyone had one, filled with good flavors and love.

Happy Full Christmas

 Happy Christmas to my readers worldwide. May it be full of good food and good friends and family.

An Exotic Holiday

 Christmas doesn't have to have traditional ham or turkey . If you want try something different. It could be a dish reflecting your heritage or from a cuisine you adore.Skip the turkey leg with gravy and explore what's out there.

This cold weather deserves a kick of spice. Asian and Mexican food can provide much needed heat. Indian food is loaded with delicious spices that make any ingredient sing.One dish that makes for a fun party meal is butter chicken or makhani. This is a relatively  easy dish to make., It's firstst creating the marinade and using Kashmiri red chili powder or smoky paprika. Garam masala along with ginger paste is used too. Greek yogurt is added to this and the chicken is marinated in it for twelve hours in the fridge. Tomato puree or tomato paste is mixed with cashews and water. It's then cooking the  butter sauce, redolent with cinnamon cloves and cardamoms.. Garlic paste and green chiles are also added.It's then cooking and straining until the sauce is free of any hard bits. The chicken can be grilled baked or air fried  and then added to the sauce. You could also make chicken Tikka masala, similar in some ways but spicier than the butter chicken. You could also buy a tasty array of samosas, veggie filled puffs at any super market like Lidl for a fun appetizer platter .

Mexico has its' own traditional Christmas dishes that anyone can make. Think  a holiday plate filled with carne asada. This can be made in a slow cooker, allowing you to create other dishes like salad or frying up cinnamon churros for dessert.it requires flank steak that's first sauteed in olive oil before it's transferred to a slow cooker.Onion and garlic are cooked up in the leftover olive oil until the two veggies are crispy. Add a mix of orange and lime juice along with vinegar, soy sauce and seasonings. This is brought to a boil and then added to the meat.It's slow cooked for four hours  until the meat is butter tender.Mole is a chocolate rich sauce with a savory and picky punch. It can be served on any meat for an elegant sauce.it's a powerful marriage of cocoa powder, tomato sauce.Onion, garlic and chili powder give this rich sauce its' kick. It's perfect with beef or chicken  but you could do a  turkey breast mole. Serve with rice or cornmeal to absorb the sauce. Mexico has so many perfect Christmas desserts. Churros is one , fried dough sticks coated with cinnamon sugar and then dipped in a dark chocolate sauce. There are also marranitos , gingerbread cookies baked in the shape of pigs - how cute- and capirotada, Mexican bread pudding . THis last is baked with cinnamon and cloves along with piloncillo - Mexican brown sugar. Cheese is added for a salty - sweet mix.

Christmas is an exciting time. Make non traditional dishes that kick up the level. They can be spicy and savory or spicy and sweet.It's up to you. HAve a good time in creating them

Christmas Your Way

 Many are stating home on Christmas,away from family. It's the joy of having freinds over for good food and fun presents.It's also a chance to get away from traditional dinners. People are serving what they like and not' what's dictated by decades of tradition. eat what you like. It's a feast to celebrate but it's your feast too.

One aspect of celebrating Christmas your way is breaking free of recipes you may not like. For many it's home made pasta with sauce instead of the usual ham or turkey. This is perfect for those who love cacio e pepe or even an Alfredo, with creamy white sauce. Another festive holiday dish is risotto Milanese or any risotto for that matter. This is the perfect celebratory dinner for two or even three. Add a good bottle of wine and enjoy. Keep in mind that you can also make a smaller version of the traditional holiday meal. You can get a turkey breast at any grocery like Acme or Stop and Shop. As for gravy and stuffing go for the best- LIdl. Their cornbread stuffing and turkey gravy are the best, very flavorful and just easy to make. Just have a slice vegetable if you want.. I went with Lidl;s  potato and squash puree. I'm having a small vegan Christmas with Gardein;'s turkey slices which are easy to air fry. Vegans can also have their own holiday away from me at loving relatives. Garden and Tofurkey offer small roasts that can be roasted in around an hour and a half. They come with their own wild rice stuffing and gravy . This is perfect for two and their might even be leftovers.

What about desserts? The good thing about Christmas your way is desserts your way. Don;t make the traditional trifle if you';re not into it. Buy a fancy ice cream loaf - my way of celebrating. Again this is a fancy, lacy looking ice cream log, full of , chocolate bourbon and vanilla. There is no way I could duplicate this dreamy sweet. It's perfect for two and a bit nontraditional  for Christmas sinc it is a cold dessert.. As for cookies again, don;t bake if you have to. All stores have trays of them and you can get a smaller one. If you just fancy fruit, then go for it. Nothing beats a  light dish of different fruit after a heavy meal. Pears and apples are still big right now. have a plate with sliced pieces . You can also do a quick poached pear . Add a sweet red wine to them and maybe a dab of butter.it just takes a few minutes and then they're done. Of course if you want to spend the night gorging on Christmas candy , then do so. Also break open the champagne. Drink your way  too. Pop open a bottle of bubbly or chill in front of a fire with a hot toddy or mulled wine.It's your celebration.

Do Christmas your way if you don;t want to celebrate it with family. eat what you want. Drink what you want. Make it a day to celebrate the Lord in the way you want.

Your Christmas Wishes

 here;s a thoughtful Friday question of the week_ What do you want for Christmas food wise? Most Amricans and Europeans would say that  they'd wish for the price of food to go down.It is expensive. Other may be indulgent and say thye'd like a bottle of champagne and some caviar? Others would simply what a home cooked meal by their moms and grandmothers, enjoying family classics like ginger ale glazed ham or homemade stuffing. 

My wish is that all the planet's inhabitants will be well fed and well nourished. It has been a tough year for many on this Earth, between war and natural disasters. Simple food stuffs like flour and milk are hard to be found. I only hope this holiday season should be bountiful in the sense that everyone ,especially the little ones go to bed , well stuffed and sated. A good meal may not take away what's wrong in the world but it can make a hard time slightly better.

What is your  food wish this Christmas? Let us know🎄🎄🎅

Potato Bars

 Potatoes tend to be the heart of any holiday table, yet they're often ignored for more fancier mains and sides. However you can make them shine at a holiday table.How Set up a potato bar. Yes!~ Baked potatoes can shone just as brightly as any charcuterie or sea-cuterie platter. 

Regular contributor and chef himself, Eric Kim elevates the lowly spud with an article and recipes in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Baked potatoess got their due during 1909 when railway dining was truly elegant. Hazen Titus was head of the line  Northern Pacific/s dining car hd learned of a surplus of oversized potatoes. he put them on his menu.They were ordered and put on the menu and became a hit. More than a century later a baked potato is still a big hit. Who doesn't love a split one with a fluffy white flesh along with a huge , melting part of butter.It's also good with other topping like the traditional sour cream, chives cheese and bacon. Chef Kim has spent the last year baking giant spuds, he recommends them to star at at any party.It start s by setting up a bar It appeals to all sorts of cultures. As chef Vishwesh Bhatt wrote in his cookbook "Potaotes are a great equalizer for many cuisines.They can be adopted to many different tastes and cuisines,

What would work in a potato bar? An aglio e olio one appeals to those who love the simple Italian pasta dish. It starts with a baked potato dolloped with a mayo and garlic mixture, Lightly drizzle with  extra virgin olive oil and red pepper if you want some zing. Microplane a cloud of Parmesan over each one for a tasty,flavor. There is also an Indian-ish recipe from Cehf Kim's fellow writer Priya Krishna and her mother . Chiles and chaat masala - a dried powder made from dried mango powder , black salt and dried pomegranate seeds. There's also onions and ginger for more flavor and bite.Green Chiles or Serrano Chiles are used.Mr. Kim celebrates his Korean heritage with his caramelized kimchi potatoes.it stands in for bacon as it;s sauteed with butter. and then browned much in the same way as onions or cabbage is. Sharp cheddar tops it along with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives. Sweet potatoes get their due here too They;'re topped with goat cheese whipped ream cheese and hot honey, a mix of regular honey and Chiles.Rosemary and nuts top them off for a different flavor.

A potato bar? Why not. It'sa different and fun way of enjoying this powerhouse staple Try  them with all the different ingredients.