A Beast

Recently my brother had his 10th birthday. I baked him a 4 layered cake. It was larger than I expected. The full title of the cake would be: a 4 layered vanilla cake filled with a vanilla pastry cream and frosted with a chocolate buttercream.
      Pastry cream. People forget about it. Some treat it with as little respect its unbearable, Little do they know that pastry cream is a great thing. Easy to make, a great tasting, its a great filling to cakes..... or just eating in general.

Heres how to make it:

2 cups whole milk

6 large egg yolks 

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tbs unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium low heat until it reaches just a simmer. At the same time beat the egg yolks with the sugar, than add the cornstarch and continue beating until light and thick. Add like 1/4 of the milk mixture slowly whisking to temper the egg mixture. When the egg mixture is slightly warm to the touch add them to the rest of the milk. Cook over medium heat for about 1 minute whisking. Off the heat add the extract and the butter. Strain and cover with plastic wrap and chill for a least 1-2 hours. Or if just eating just dig in.

Books, Hot off the press

Here are some new and awesome things:

• Good Eats just came out with a new book, The Middle Years, a sequel to The Early Years.
• Another good book: Chocolate American Style, a amazing chocolate book. Chocolate croissant bread pudding? To die for.
• I have had trouble with my new ice cream machine click here to get an idea.

I wont be happy until I have this: http://www.amazon.com/Whynter-IC-2L-2-Quart-Cream-Maker/dp/B000V6Y7GG

ITS SELF REFRIGERATED! HEAR ME! SELF REFRIGERATED 

Best Snack Ever

• Half a croissant.
• Spread a hearty amount of Nutella on each slice
• replace with other half
• microwave on high for 20 seconds.

PURE HAPPINESS

Do Yourself a Favor

Subscribe to cooks illustrated. The magazines are the one thing living for.
you know the drill just click the @#$^$

2 Important Anouncements

1. I just finished making vanilla bean ice cream. click here to get the recipe. And my god is it good. Click Here
2. I recently installed a magnetic knife holder from here. Its really nice. Get one you will.

Must Have Equipment

Sorry for the delay, I just came back from a soccer tour in Arizona with the Hawai'i team. 3rd place, not bad.

Here is some basic equipment that you definitely should have:

• Dry measuring cups - Duh!
• Dry measuring cups- Brand to buy: Pyrex. I have 2 of them, one for up to 1 cup and then another that goes to 5 cups.
• Digital scale: I own a OXO digital scale. Reliable, easy to use, it makes recipes with weights a breeze. Just press Zero and keep adding ingredients. A must for Good eats recipes.
• Half sheet pan, have a least 2. I have like three. 
• Loaf Pans, at least 2- Bakers Secret best brand.
• Square Loaf Pan
• Cake pans. I already have shown my hatred towards them. But I have found a place where I think has the @#%#% I'm looking for. click here.
•  Glass baking dish: Pyrex all day long baby! Stick with them and you will succeed.
• Pie plate: again Pyrex
• Tube Pan
• Muffin tin: Get a nonstick PLEASE
• 2 sizes of skillets, big and small (All-Clad)
• 3 sizes of saucepans (All-Clad)
• 1 Nonstick skillet- I use it only in recipes that call for it, instead I use this:
• Cast Iron Skillet- With even heating, no emissions that cause cancer, this is the only green non-stick skillet you can get your hands on.
• A big Pot- for stock, soup, bread, and to use as a shield for kitchen raids (you may have those, I do) 

TO BE CONTINUED

Happy

Got a new knife for christmas. Happy.

Arizona

I'll be in Arizona from the 14-18 so no posting then.

Another Thing Completely Ripped Off But Still Practical

This is completely and utterly ripped of but oh well.
The word  BEEF is usually thought of with the word  STEAK. Steaks are usually thought of as "restaurant food" and "un-makable in a home kitchen". They also say that you can't replicate the exact same thing sitting on your plate may it be a filet mignon or a New York strip. I am going to have to be blunt with you. You can't. Its nothing personal, nothing about ability or inadequate equipment, its just you don't make steak for a living, do you. Lets go over the things that steakhouses like this has but you don't have.

1. PRIME BEEF: Beef has 3 grades of quality: Prime, Choice, and Select. Prime is the best of the best. With lots of integrated fat and great texture, this beef only goes to restaurants and some butchers. You will have to sacrifice a lot of time and money for this piece, I just don't think its worth it. The only Prime you have ever tasted would be in pretty fancy restaurant. Choice beef is the stuff you buy at stores. Although not as well tasting as Prime it can be found easily and tastes fine. Select is the worst. It has almost no integrated fat and tastes well.........lousy. Don't worry, its hard to accidentally get Select anyway.
2. Dry Aging Rooms: In great steakhouses they have huge chunks of Prime beef in climate controlled rooms at around 34 F and 38 F just to sit there for weeks. This is what dry aging is. Dry aging is the practice of the moisture in the beef slowly evaporate, intensifying the taste. You don't have a room for that do you.
3. Broilers: Instead of grilling, top restaurants broil their meat at temperatures that exceed 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.

All of this makes steaks with perfect texture every time. I will give you a method of replicating this at home but this post is getting too @#$$&* long. 

Good Eats

Most of the stuff on this blog will be ripped of Good Eats. Without a doubt this is the best food show in the history of the world. Click here and here to get you started (first ones part one and then part 2) but just keep finding them on the side bar. It always comes in 2 parts.

 Watch them you will.........

My Hatred Towards Cake Pans

Cake pans. Those two words seem so harmless. So gentle. But under that under-crust of makeup the humble cake pan is trying to do your baking career.
         I suppose the cake pan itself is not to blame for this terrible thing, more the companies who make them. There is 8 inch cake pans with nonstick bottoms, theres 9 inch with solid aluminum. Both can come in 1 or 2 inches! @###*%#
        Okay, I going to set some things here.

1. Whatever anyone says 9 inch cake pans are the standard. Although this is true some recipes (including "Baked" one of my favorite baking books click here to buy) do ask for 8 inch pans. I recommend seriously getting 3 of each. I found some good deals on cake pans for both sizes here.
2. What I really hate is 1 inch high pans. YOU CANNOT SPLIT 1 DUMPY INCH CAKES! I very much prefer the 2 inch depth. If the recipe calls for splitting the finished cake layers assume 2 inch depth. Assume 2 inch deep for most cakes

Take That Evil Pans!

A New Blog

Welcome. This blog will change some things. My thoughts. I have countless thoughts about food. I never write them down. Until now. You see there are two kinds of people in this world. People who eat to live, and people who live to eat. I am part of the second option. I can't stop thinking about food. All the time. 24-7.  This is why I have made this blog. To talk food.
"Victus est Vita": Live for food