Easy as pie! How many times have you heard this expression? Pie really can be very easy, very comforting, very tasty and very affordable. Don’t sweat the small stuff. If the thought of a homemade crust is more than you can bare, simply use one of the pie crusts that are premade and in the refrigerated section at the grocery store. [Read more…]
Home is comforting —but the new sights we saw, friends we made and tastes we experienced the last couple of weeks shine brightly for us! While, we typically share the latest dish cooking in one of our kitchens—today, we want to share two exciting culinary treats that just happened to come one right after the other. [Read more…]
Whew! We have just returned from the National Housewares Show in Chicago and what an experience. Babycakes® are still center stage and very much the belle of the show. We had a grand time showing Micky Mouse® waffles, Babycakes cupcakes, Babycakes cake pops and Babycakes donuts. [Read more…]
When it comes to BBQ I would like to think that I have become somewhat of an expert. Growing up in Kansas City, with a father who was in the meat business, how could one not become an expert? Imagine my surprise when I read about a terrific local BBQ restaurant in one of my favorite New York City blogs. Not only did I learn about it from NYC but I also discovered that a famous San Francisco chef, Mitchell Rosenthal had visited and written about his food experience too! That was enough for me to twist my family’s arm one more time so that we could experience another food field trip.
The Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q was the star in these NYC posts and reports and after experiencing this local find first hand, I can certainly see why all the rave reviews. Not too far outside of Kansas City, south of Olathe, on 169 Highway, you will find Hillsdale Bank. What a breath of fresh air on a Saturday night! It was fun to visit small town Americana and enjoy the setting.
Our 14-year old insisted on starting our meal with onion rings. After remembering that this was not her idea of a terrific Saturday night, I consented to appease her. Wow! I was the winner of her selection. These had to be, hands down, some of the best onion rings I have ever tasted.
Now on to the main event. I selected the rib and meat dinner. The secret to the success of this BBQ joint is the fact that that do not use rub to flavor the meat. They prepare the meat slow and low with hickory. The result is beyond delicious. Topped with their famous sauce it is definitely blue ribbon quality. I liked to mix the two sauces, regular and hot. In addition the baked beans were sweet, delicious and obviously cooked slow and low too. [Read more…]
We recently attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference in New York City. This is always a stellar conference jam packed with information about food and trends. Not to mention, we get to meet so many food professionals, famous and not so famous.
We went in a day early to participate in a Chocolate and Pastry tour. What can I say? We had a fantastic culinary adventure through the streets of New York. Here are some pictures of our pastry and chocolate filled day. My all time favorite was the Kouign Amann from Dominque Ansel’s Bakery. Dominque’s DKA, as he calls them, are croissant like pastries with a caramelized crust and a soft, almost pudding-like center. Oh, how I have dreamed of a bakery like this in Kansas City. Dominque shared his DKA and a salted caramel eclair with us. I am still thinking about how decadently wonderful they were.
With all the pastry treasures close to mind, I wanted to enjoy a Lemon Meringue Pie. After researching many new recipes, I settled upon one that I thought would be very easy. Easy was important because I am really suppose to be testing more cake pop recipes in order to meet a pending cookbook manuscript deadline. While this was developed to be a tart similar to what is found in many Paris patisseries, I wanted to make a pie. I made my favorite pastry crust and added Ina Garten’s lemon filling and meringue. Perfection! Here is the link to Ina’s recipe. I hope you will give this a try and let me know your results.
Can I share one New York laugh with you all? We were in Times Square one day and happened upon Minnie Mouse. I begged Kathy to stand with Minnie for a picture so that I might send it to my daughter, who would be so excited. She is madly in love with all things Disney.
Notice Minnie coming down the street swinging her purse.
See the perfect pic of Kathy with Minnie? What you don’t see is Minnie hitting Kathy with her purse until she paid her $1.00 for the picture! I exclaimed to Minnie that Walt Disney would not be impressed. After we got over the shock and awe of the event, I must admit, we giggled about it the rest of our trip. So be forewarned, no pictures in Time Square without payment!
May your week be filled with lemon tart moments and photo snapshots (if only in your mind). The kind that you can giggle and smile about.
