Tuesday, February 26, 2008

So, about that Peach Cheesecake...

Joey, here... this was a creamy peach filling on top of a short crust and then finished with an orange marmalade topping... however, i tried something different from our basic recipe and layered jarred peach slices, that I had drained (the juice went in to the filling), on the blind-baked crust before pouring the filling... I think this caused the crust to become soggy before Steven had a chance to get it to the samplers... But as he pointed out, that seemed to be the only criticism...

Have you ever seen a resin-topped table, in which objects seem to float within the surface? That's pretty much how this cheesecake looked with the orange marmalade topping... the little bits of orange peel seemed to float in a sea of orange-peach clearness...

I am going to make this one again and post a photo of it so you can see what it is I am talking about... I think I'll leave out the sliced peaches, though, or perhaps chop them and mix them in to the filling!!

more news as events warrant...

Friday, February 22, 2008

What the heck IS the next holiday?!

Well, folks, we've been trying to figure out what to make next (I think we'll be in that state for several years to come!)...and since our last post, we've come up with a simply fantastic creamy Peach Cheesecake; our own variation on the famous Brooklyn Blackout cake which, in a nod to Vicki Lawrence, we have affectionately dubbed "The Night the Lights Went Out in Brooklyn".

Then there's the fantastic sister to our Sour Cream Chocolate layer cake in which we've slipped in several layers of seductive Raspberry Cream Cheese filling. When I took this one to work I had to jump out of the way to save my own life, since my co-workers were wielding knives and forks galore in an attempt to devour this devilishly yummy goodness. There are a couple others I can't quite put my finger on at the moment - so I'll let Joey tell you about those when he gets a moment in front of the computer screen again soon. Meanwhile last week, in a moment of dreaming about our future, I happened to be browsing Craigslist to find bakeries for sale in the area (even though we don't plan to open in New York, it's interesting to see what's out there and what they are asking and including in the deal - it's great research.)...well, I stumbled across a lovely character from Brooklyn named SuzyO (her eBay name) who happened to have recently closed a couple of restaurants and wanted to get rid of a large quantity of bakery boxes (whoo hoo!)... We jumped at the chance to buy them from her, so Joey and I grabbed a luggage cart, jumped on the "L" and headed to Greenpoint to make a new friend and add to our collection of packaging materials (now, WHERE do we store them, you may ask - and I'll let you know when I figure it out!)

Suzy is a wealth of information on chef wizardry in general, and had some wonderful ideas that she gladly passed on to us about how to improve upon a couple of our existing recipes, and some great ideas to keep in mind for future creations. Thanks, Suzy - we'll think of you every time we box up a pie!

We're working on coming up with something fantastic for Easter (maybe some wonderful egg-shaped mini cakelettes in fun flavors and dusted with pastel sugars) and of course, we've got to give the people what they want on St. Patrick's Day... perhaps a Mint Chocolate cupcake which will be adorned with a "wearin' o' the green" mound of lovely bright green minty frosting... just a couple ideas we are tossing around...

This weekend is the February Daring Bakers challenge, so I think we'll be up to our necks in flour once again. Wish us luck - and be sure to stop by and order something yummy for your next party, romantic dinner for two - or just to nosh in front of Desperate Housewives...

Ciao for now, fellow sweet-tooth bearers...

Monday, February 4, 2008

Some tasteful feedback, if you will...

So, today, in a HUGE error in judgement, the company I work for (my "day job", I suppose) had a celebration of sorts and ordered several cakes from one of our fellow well known bakeries here in the Big Apple. One of my co-workers, when asked if she intended to have a slice, referred to Joey Biscotti and said: (a direct quote) "Once you've had Caviar, who wants tuna fish?"

Now I ask you - is that not a fantastic vote of confidence for our "little engine that could" (and WILL)?

I'm thrilled! And Joey is musing over the possibility of baking a peach cheesecake this week to put on our ever expanding menu....we'll keep you posted, fellow sweets seekers. Now, back to the kitchen!

Ciao for now....