Dawn Heavy Duty Degreaser

If you haven't yet discovered this product....go find it!

See the videos below-the one shows the right side where I did my 'regular' wash. 

Then over to the left where I used this. These cookie sheets are 20 years old.

I thought they looked pretty good, but now?!

If you have a nice manicure, maybe put on a glove just in case.

 

Homemade Pasta...

...is hard to make, requires special flour and lots of $$$ tools - all MYTHS

You can make great pasta with all-purpose flour, a rolling pin, and your hands.

Why make your own pasta? It's softer, more delicate, with a fresher taste. 

Customize to your own taste, thicker noodles, special shapes, add herbs, colors, special fillings...

Egg pasta (northern Italy) is for shapes that need to be rolled thin and keep their shape. Plan on 100g flour (AP or 00) plus 1 egg per person. Add an extra yolk to make it a bit richer.

Egg pasta should be frozen rather than dried, for safety reasons. 

If kept in the fridge, cook within two days.

*Use only the freshest eggs. Test your eggs in a bowl of water, if they sink, they're fresh.

If they remain in a vertical position, they are getting old but can still be used for other recipes. 

If they float, they've gone bad.

Drizzle cooked pasta with a bit of olive oil - 1-2tsp. per lb. Toss, spread on sheet pan to cool.

Store in ziplock in fridge for up to 5 days.

Semolina pasta (southern Italy) is for a thicker, more rustic shape. 100g flour to 50g water

Adding some AP will make it a bit more elastic.

**Fresh dough can be refrigerated for 24 hours before rolling out. 

Any longer and the dough will start to oxidize/discolor.

        00 flour                              Semolina                    All-Purpose

more finely ground                 more al dente                more common

     best texture                   harder to work with             great texture

Dough can be mixed by hand, stand mixer, or food processor.

Stand mixer-use dough hook for 4-5 minutes to save on kneading time.

Food processor-mix til dough comes together, remove to work surface, rest 1 minute. 

If sticky, sprinkle w/flour. Knead 1-2 minutes.

By hand - mix, and then knead 7-10 minutes.

Fresh pasta has a short shelf life, cook or freeze as soon as possible. 

Pasta can be cooked right from frozen.

Mix, knead, wrap, rest 30 min., roll, shape, dry 30 min. 

(use a fan to speed up the process), freeze or cook.

Dough should be at room temp. before rolling. Divide dough into manageable pieces to roll,

either by hand or with a pasta roller.

Keep remaining dough wrapped when not in use to keep from drying out.

If using a cutter (like a spaghetti or fettucine attachment), allow rolled pasta to rest/dry for 15 minutes.

Make nests out of long noodles (sprinkle with flour), freeze, then put in ziploc.

Other shapes, freeze on parchment lined cookie sheet, then transfer to ziploc.

Make sure container is airtight. 

To see 29 pasta shapes made by hand Visit: 

https://www.bonappetit.com/video/watch/how-to-make-handmade-pasta-shapes-dough?epik=dj0yJnU9VFpmSkRud1VXWjdiY0ZDUGtwbWFOTk9LMVlIQi0zSW8mcD0wJm49eXlJY3Z6YTZtbHZqaUFyZXRicXpOZyZ0PUFBQUFBR2NOZnVj

To color pasta, use carrots, spinach,  fresh herbs, beets, pumpkin, cocoa powder. Add more flour/liquid as needed. Have your sauce ready to go before cooking your pasta. To cook pasta: Start with cold water. Add salt/sugar when the water is almost to a boil. Cook regular pasta in salted water, dessert pasta in sugared water. Do NOT add oil to your water - this may prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta. Wait for BIG bubbles before adding pasta to the water. The boiling temp. prevents the pasta from getting mushy. The first plunge is critical to the texture. Do not use a lid - this will keep the pasta from boiling over. Remember to stir to prevent sticking and/or uneven cooking. Don't pour the pasta into a colander. Remove pasta straight to sauce right when it is done to avoid overcooking. If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit of the pasta water. Covered in class-cavatelli, orecchiette, manicotti (lasagna see 12/19/20), tagliatelle, agnolotti, ravioli Sauces-Meat sauce, vodka sauce brown butter sage sauce, quick white alfredo sauce Pasta - 1c. AP flour 1egg 1/2Tbsp. olive oil 1/2tsp. salt add water sparingly if needed  (could use a spray bottle) Knead 7-10 minutes. Manicotti: In food processor-2c. AP flour, 2 eggs + 1 yolk, 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil wrap and rest 30 minutes Using the food processor cuts down on the need to knead. I actually rolled, cut, and froze the sheets until I had time to fill them. They defrosted quickly. Filling: Cottage cheese, (ricotta), shredded mozzarella, cream cheese, 1 egg Cavatelli: 1c. semolina 1/4c. water (see rolling video below) Make your own gnocchi board with skewers. See pic below. Meat sauce-I add 1lb. ground beef, 1 onion, and doubled the recipe on the Tone's Italian Spaghetti Seasoning from Sam's. I add an equal amount of sugar substitute. Cook in crock pot, instant pot, add more water depending on what you're using it for.

Pumpkin Agnolotti: 2c. AP flour pinch salt 2 eggs 1-2 yolks 2Tbsp. pumpkin 

1Tbsp. olive oil dough was sticky after resting, so I added flour when rolling

Filling: 1oz. grated parmesan, 1oz. cream cheese, 1 clove garlic, 1c. canned pumpkin puree, 1 egg, 3/4tsp. kosher salt, 1/2tsp. pepper, 1/4tsp. nutmeg

 *make the filling ahead of time and refrigerate so it's not too runny

Brown Butter-Melt 8Tbsp. butter in large skillet, cook until foamy. Add in 2 cloves garlic and 1 Tbsp. fresh sage. Add in 1 tsp. brown sugar, s&p. Serve with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan. Can add some pasta water if it gets too thick.

Your pasta: 1c. AP flour 1egg 1/2Tbsp. olive oil 1/2tsp. salt 

add water sparingly as needed (could use a spray bottle).

Knead 7-10 minutes. Less if using a KitchenAid or a Food Processor

Udon noodles: 1c. AP flour, 1/4c. water, pinch salt - cover pasta w/oil and rest 90min.

See stretching video below. 

Quick Alfredo Sauce-Melt 3 Tbsp. butter, whisk in 1c. heavy cream (or 1/2&1/2) bring to simmer. Cook while whisking 5 minutes. Add 4cloves garlic, cook 1 more minute. Gradually add 1.5c freshly grated Parmesan, s&p to taste. If sauce is too thick, add some pasta water.

Can add lemon juice, cream cheese, nutmeg for a different flavor.

Spinach artichoke dip was just a trial for class - try adding cooked chicken.

00 pasta: (bowties/penne) 300g. 00 flour (3eggs 1 yolk + oil to equal 185g.)

Vodka Sauce-I used Daniel Gritzer’s Penne alla Vodka on Serious Eats

Visit:

https://www.thekitchn.com/vodka-sauce-recipe-reviews-23214793?epik=dj0yJnU9UG5mbzJlSmpTVmdWMDRlZjhZcDJZU1V0VTlPRU5NQjcmcD0wJm49dVA5eUZYWUJuN0VmM0c4NjdjcnR5USZ0PUFBQUFBR2NTZHBZ

Chocolate ravioli: 2.5c. AP flour, 1/3c. cocoa, 2 eggs, 1/3-1/2c. water

Can cut this in half, or make them all and keep in the freezer.

It's ok if this dough sits in the fridge for an extra day. It doesn't seem to oxidize like the plain pasta.
Filling: 4oz. cream cheese, 3oz. ricotta, 1/3c. cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1.5c. powdered sugar, 1tsp. vanilla, 

1Tbsp. cocoa

My filling was runny so I added extra powdered sugar, which didn't really help. 

Next time I may just do cream cheese, white sugar and cocoa so it'll be like cheesecake.
Make ravioli, freeze, add 2Tbs. sugar to water when cooking.
Serve with nuts, choc. chips, raspberry sauce. Could use fudge or caramel sauce.

Spooky Halloween Food

 The pictures below were all screen shots from Pinterest, originally posted by numerous talented cooks!

Notes after trying the above recipes in class:

Date Roaches-they're already cut from the pit being removed. Use a mix of whatever cheese you like. We used cream cheese & feta. Try using prosciutto since the pepperoni didn't get super crisp.

Hasselback Potato-These make a yummy side dish for something different. Put any spice, onions, cheese, panko, etc. over the top. I put them in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes to partook them.

Putrid Punch-makes more than 2 quarts, so use a large pitcher

Ratloaf-If you don't want to do bbq sauce, catsup would give the same fun (gross) results.

When forming, put half your meatloaf mix, all the 'guts', then the rest of the meatloaf.

Shape into a rat shape.

Brimstone Bread-I couldn't find the bread mix so I used my 'no-knead' bread. It's mixed the night before making. I put some butter in my pan, probably should have sprayed it or used parchment. I just freehanded some 'rolls'. For the topping, I couldn't find the rice flour so I subbed 1/2 Tapioca flour and 1/2 cornstarch. I would only add 1/2c. warm water. Also, there was really no need to put it on so thick.

Slugs & maggots-marzipan recipe - 1cup each almond flour and powdered sugar, almond flavor or vanilla. Add corn syrup (approx. 1/4 c.) til it gets to a handleable consistancy.

Dead finger cookies-If you don't have frosting, (we used royal icing), you can use some jelly, but do that just prior to serving so they don't get soggy. Melted red candy melts would be even better.

Shrimp Udon-I doubled the sauce recipe. I'd suggest adding a cup of water to make it saucier and to cut the saltiness. If you want to try homemade noodles, check this out: https://redhousespice.com/hand-pulled-noodles/ Don't skip the resting step!

Cake 101

START WITH:

Cake recipe - or use a box mix

Frosting recipe

Practice Practice Practice

MUST HAVE TOOLS:

Offset spatula

Aluminum pans (not black)

Cake Leveler - or use knife and toothpicks to mark

Decorating bags - can use ziplocs

Tips/couplers (optional)

Food Color Gel is best-use a clean toothpick each time

To purchase supplies:

You can find certain items at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, JoAnne's, etc. plus Karen Annes on Gravois 

(or a cake supply store near you) 

Boards/boxes/foil/bags/tips/cake filling

Bake Cake –box mix (betty crocker is my fave) – mix in eggs & oil then slowly add water to get a cake with no large air pockets

    extra egg / butter instead of oil / milk(coconut) instead of water / dry pudding mix

    lower the temp / use insulator strips / rotate pans

    1 Mix yields 4 cups batter / approx. 2 lbs.

    use 2 or 3 leftover yolks to sub for no more than 1 egg per mix

    remove all but 1 yolk per white mix to get a light fluffy cake that still cuts well

USE BAKER’s JOY*** or DIY goop/cake release (see below)

Insulator strips (can make your own) work very well.

Here's a link to make your own.

https://www.wyldflour.com/how-to-make-an-insulated-cake-strip-step-by-step-pictures/#:~:text=There%20are%20several%20techniques%20for,And%20it%20works%20for%20me.

You could also just cut up some towels. Don't have them dripping wet when you wrap them around your pan.

Cool / Split / Level

Fill – build a dam / then use frosting or cake filling (not both)

    place top cake (cut sides together)/ and smooth/close side gap

    (pipe a bit of frosting around the gap and smooth it with a spatula w/no regard to crumbs)

    Crumb Coat – if necessary (I find this just makes top coating more difficult)

    Some people refrigerate or freeze a cake after applying a crumb coat and then they do the top coat.

    I only do this a crumb coat on ‘cut’ cakes or when I’m building something

Frost – can use part or all butter but won’t work as well 

    Smooth with Viva (printer paper or parchment paper will also work)

        can make an imprint with a textured towel or a 

        clean piece of ‘non-slip’ or impression mats (aliexpress)
    Frosting can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen – bring to room temp before using

Decorate – piping bags / tips / color icing

    Can use Ziploc bags or parchment paper cones 

    Border / write

2 days prior to serving – Bake cakes - cool in pan till you can ‘hold’ it

(Larger cakes should cool longer so they don't crack when you dump them out)

 A-dump out and cool ‘as is’ on the bottom of the cake pan

 B-level off the top & then cool cut side down (again on the bottom of the pan)  

 C-fill cake (and close gap) – let sit overnite (this minimizes the side bulge look) 

1 day prior to serving (or the day of if you have the time) – (Bake cupcakes) 

Frost / smooth / decorate

Pan	Svgs (2-layer)	Party svgs	Cups Batter each pan
6" round	12	10	2 - 4 / 1 mix
8" round	24	15	3 - 6 / 1 1/2 mixes
9" round	43	20	4 - 8 / 2 mixes
10" round	38	25	5 - 10 / 2 1/2 mixes
6" round 3"	-	5	2 / 1/2 mix
8" round 3"	-	10	4 / 1 mix
10" round 3"	-	15	6 / 1 1/2 mix
9x13	24	20	8 / 2 mixes
double 1/4	50	35	3.5 mixes for two
12x18	54	30	12 / 3 mixes
double 1/2	98	60	3 mixes each
6" square	18	10	2 - 4 / 1 mix
8" square	32	20	4 - 8 / 2 mixes
10" square	50	30	6 - 12 / 3 mixes

   If you have a scale – 1 mix yields 4 cups or 2 lbs. or 32 oz. (30oz. w/the recent cut)

  Where the above says 2 cups – you’ll put 1 lb.  Or 16oz. (15oz.)

Small batch Decorator Buttercream

1/2 lb. Crisco (1 1/8c.)  - 8oz. (I use7.5 oz.)

   can use part or all butter but won’t work as well 

   Walmart–shortening (whiter, similar to hi ratio)/vegetable shortening 

      check out the taste test done by Karolyns Kakes on YouTube

2 lb. powdered sugar

scant 1/2 c. milk or water  - warm helps it mix better

 hold back some liquid for stiffer frosting – it will stiffen a bit when the water cools

 if you’re frosting cupcakes, a thinner frosting will be easier on your hands.

1 tsp. flavoring each - clear vanilla & clear butter 

1 tsp. salt (mix with the warm water)

After all powdered sugar is added, stop and scrape bowl well. 

Continue to mix on low for 2 minutes. 

Chocolate Buttercream

Sub 1 lb. powdered sugar with ¾c. cocoa (SACO dutch cocoa is my fave)

 (I purchase it at Dierbergs)

Add flavoring and salt (and cocoa) to shortening and start mixing on low. 

Alternately add powdered sugar and water while mixing. 

After all powdered sugar is added, stop and scrape bowl well. 

Continue to mix on low for 2 minutes. 

cake mix extender 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour  

1 cup sugar  

2 teaspoons baking powder  

1/4 teaspoon baking soda  

Mix all ingredients together in a ziploc and store in fridge. 

add a couple Tbsp. to a half mix to get 12 cupcakes

3 Tbsp. to a full mix to get 24

I just use a couple Tbsp. out of another mix since I go through so many

When making cupcakes, a cookie scoop is best for even sized 

I use the large Pampered Chef scoop (holds approx. 3 Tbsp.)

Quick Fix Chocolate Cupcakes****

This is my 'vegan' recipe - uses ingredients you probably always have on hand

1 1/2 c. flour                                  makes 18 cupcakes

1 c. sugar                                        fill liners 2/3 full

1/4 c. cocoa powder                     bake at 375 16-18

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1 c. hot water

Cake goop – DIY pan release

Even amounts: Crisco, oil, flour

Mix well, does go bad eventually

WASC-popular cake mix adaptation

1 box mix

1 c flour

1 c sugar

Dash salt

½ c melted butter (optional)

1 c milk

1 c sour cream

1 small pkg pudding (optional)

4 egg white (or 3 whole eggs)

1 tsp almond

This will yield the equivalent of 1.5 mixes so adjust pan size accordingly.

https://delishably.com/desserts/Cake-Decorating-Basics-How-to-Extend-a-Boxed-Cake-Mix

my web-site – www.terisdesserts.com feel free to steal ideas ;)

find links to Meramec classes here https://terisdesserts.com/classes

There is a list of ‘my’ classes there too.

How the above cakes are done:

cat - leave one of your layers domed for the head. you can even put the dome from the other layer on top to make it taller. this works great for ball cakes too. the hat is a sugar cone, face/ears are fondant, paws are buttercream.

3 tier cake using 6"(1/2 mix) 8"(1 mix) 10"(1 1/2 mix) 3"tall pans

this is a great way to have 3 different design elements and potentially 3 cake flavors.

light blue cake - side is frosted first and smoothed. the top is done next, along with a small amount on the top and bottom, then these are smoothed.

pink/blue cake - frost the cake in white, 'swipe' on some color, then smooth all together.

rosette cake

petal effect cake

sprinkle covered cake

pastel palette painted - frost/smooth base coat. swipe on some colors, but don't smooth them

  watch some 'palette painting buttercream cake' tutorials - so fun

pink flowers - imprint pattern with cookie cutter, fill in, smooth (like lily pulitzer designs) or not (adds texture/interest)

brown design - pattern is made with the metal strip from a wax paper box, then piped over

stone look - pattern is pressed on with an impression mat

on this blog:

3/26/23-sprinkled filled cake/jersey cake/RV cake

2/19/23 – how to make a Faultline cake         

2/15/23 – how to make an airplane cake

8/22/22 – the making of a Snoopy cake

9/26/20 - how to assemble a large 3D golf bag cake

2/21/20 - how to make a roller skate RK cake topper

1/1/20 - how to make a dog face cake using cake scraps also how to make a Tshirt cake

9/11/19 - how to assemble a tiered cake also how to frost a square cake

4/24/19 - how to make RK Dino cake toppers

8/21/18 - how to make a shape #3 cake with no waste also a cute simple lamb cake

9/6/16 - how to make MMF marshmallow fondant

9/11/19 how to assemble a tiered cake - Hammer a dowel down the center

Also a video of how to frost corners on a square cake

10/4/15 - #1 Elmo cake using the multi use cake pan (love it!)

8/16/15 - 3D 4-wheeler cake

12/30/14 - multi use pan again - shaped #40 + a cake showing a good use for cake scraps

3/11/14 - shaped Dino cake

9/14/13 - Cake made from chocolate chip cookies…

3/24/13 - building a 3D firetruck cake

6/25/12 - Awareness ribbon cake

3/13/12 - 3D frog cake

There's a great video on frosting a cake here:

https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/how-to-frost-a-smooth-cake-with-buttercream/

I don't use a measuring cup (so I don't have to clean it)

Same with the jumbo tip to frost the sides. You've probable seen the Cake Boss use this technique.

Check out: YouTube – Buttercream Flower Series