My new hero (and I'm not talking sandwich)

Well, folks, Steven here and I've gotta tell you all about KitchenNYC and Tricia Rago. She owns a really wonderfully designed and maintained commercial kitchen in New York (I've blogged about the space in the past), which she rents on a daily basis to people from all walks of life; from professional chefs who need extra space, to up-and-coming entreprenuers like Joey and I.

We had the great pleasure of getting to spend a day working with her this week, to prepare the orders we'd taken for Thanksgiving. It was such a joy to finally have some countertop space (!) and two perfectly calibrated ovens and large refrigerators to work with. We accomplished so much in one day - made quite a few cheesecakes, Joeltz! (espresso brownies), pumpkin/cream cheese muffins, and I finally had a chance to make my individual serving-sized Chocolate/Toffee bread pudding, (which I have to brag about a bit and say that it was heaven on a spoon).

We encourage anyone who is interested in following a culinary career path to check out Trica Rago, owner and operator of KitchenNYC. She is such a kind and giving person, with a great knowledge of chef wizardry that she's happy to share. She is a firm believer in spreading the wealth and encouraging anyone and everyone to follow their passions. Just talk to her for ten minutes and you'll know that I mean. We are truly blessed to have stumbled upon Tricia and her wonderful space, and we hope to work with her often in the future.

Enjoy your Holiday, folks, and remember to get those orders in for Christmas (not to mention birthdays, bar mitzvahs, retirement parties, graduations,... well, the list goes on and on). We look forward to hearing from you all, and to helping you satisfy your sweet cravings.

Thankfully yours,

Steven and Joey

What about Joey? Does HE have a favorite???

Joey, here... and, yes, actually I DO have a favorite... Two, actually... Seasonally, I love my Cinnamon Streusel-topped Pumpkin Pie... For all-year round taste, I love the Torta Baciata Sole, in all it's sweet, orange glory...

Today was a baking day... well yesterday, too, since i made a batch of Joey's Mutts, which are Chocolate Chocolate cookies with every kind of chip imaginable in them... Okay, there are only 6 different kinds, but really, how many more could I fit in them???

Okay, back to today, I started by attempting a Lemon cake, which will be different from the Lightly Lemon cake we currently have on our menu... This is a four layer cake, soaked in a sweet lemon syrup, filled with a whipped cream/lemon curd tanginess, and frosted with a Lemon Buttercream... It will be joining it's cousin on our menu in the next few weeks...

Also, hopefully added to our menu will be an Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake, an amaretto-flavored filling swirled with chocolate on a chocolate crust... I haven't decided what I'd like the topping to be, but I am thinking a whipped chocolate might be nice...

We are going into production for our Thanksgiving holiday orders on Saturday November 17th, so if you haven't ordered, have a look here, and then e-mail us no later than Thursday, November 15th, at joeybiscotti@hotmail.com so we can add your choices to production!!!

Hope to hear from you soon!!!

More news as events warrant...

Do I have a personal favorite?

...I was wondering that this morning, as I contemplated all of our wonderful items to date. After a moment, I realized that, no, even though I've always loved peanut butter and chocolate (combined in our latest winning creation pictured in 5" size, which is enough for 4-6 slices, the PB&C cheesecake!)..I still seem to love whatever current recipe we happen to be working on. One day I'm reveling in lightly lemon cake with lemon curd filling, and then the next, I'm basking in the glow of our incredibly scrumptious Creme de Menthe cheesecake. I simply can't be forced to choose. And, fortunately, living with the creator, I can have whatever I want, whenever I want it! So can you - by ordering from our menu (with 48 hours' notice, of course.)

And folks, don't forget to keep checking back to vote on our polls. Knowing what you want helps us to give it to you!

Ciao for now -
Steven

Drunk with dessert

Steven, again - Joey's been so busy in the kitchen lately, fulfilling patron's desires, that he hasn't had a moment to post his thoughts, so you're stuck with me for today.

Sunday brought forth a lovely amaretto/almond cheesecake, with a thick chocolate topping, which had my co-workers simply intoxicated with sweetness yesterday. And can I just say, not to brag or anything, but my maple sandwich cookies were a huge success also (I was so surprised, because I felt I'd overbaked them, but everyone seemed to think they benefitted from being a bit brown and crunchy around the edges.). They are quite labor intensive, so I've got to practice getting them chilled and baked in a more timely fashion, so that we can price them reasonably and let the world in on the tasty maple-sugar goodness.

There's a new poll up this week (check out the information on the left-hand side of this page)..please take a moment to give us your opinion, so that we can tailor our specialties to your desires.

And don't forget to get those orders in for the holidays! We love you when you give us lots of advance notice (heck - we love you anyway!) because it gives us lots of time to make sure the quality is just the way you'd want it.

A brief, sweet interruption, if I may

Hey, its the redhead here, checking in to contemplate some changes to the recipe mentioned below (Taste of Paradise). The recipe calls for a strawberry topping of sorts, and when I mentioned this to my co-workers, Mark suggested pineapple instead...and then it hit me - why not add a layer of crushed pineapple between the crust and the actual cheesecake, and then top it with Strawberries and possibly kiwi? (Puhleeze comment on this - we love your feedback!) We will experiment with this and let you know the results as soon as we can. Today, Joey is making lemon, chocolate/raspberry, and anise almond biscotti, so that we can finally do a few trial runs on shipping them. Keep your fingers crossed (and those of you who know us, check those mailboxes frequently - you may be one of the randomly chosen human guinea pigs!). There will be a stamped, self-addressed post-card enclosed, with a brief survey of the taste and condition of the shipped goods, please PLEASE take a moment to fill these out and drop them in your mailbox. They provide the information we need to tweak the process and/or recipes. Thanks in advance, guinea pigs!

Last night, I (yes, me) made a White Chocolate/Strawberry cake with strawberry filling! We've yet to cut into it (thats for later this afternoon) but we will most surely inform you if we have another hit on our hands. I'm also trying my hand at some creme filled Maple sandwich cookies. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...just the idea has my mouth watering.

Manhattanites (and surrounding boroughs) make sure you get your Thanksgiving cheesecake (among other) orders in ASAP...time is closing in, and we can only accomodate so many requests.

Ciao for today!

Experiment in the Tropics

Joey, here... Long time, no blog for me, but here I is!!!

Yesterday, I contemplated a bottle of Malibu rum on the cabinet across the room and thought "what a great flavor for a cheesecake!!!" While it didn't turn out as I had hoped, it was far from bad, in fact it was quite delicious!!!

I started with a graham cracker crust with toasted coconut, and added a filling that included, on top of the Malibu, a cup of Coco Lopez cream of coconut.

And that was all it took for the yummies to begin... I'm going to do this one again this week and will post a photo of it to fatten up your eyes... Until you buy one!

More news as events warrant...

Autumn in Vermont...

Isn't that the way the old song goes? Well, speaking of Vermont, we've just created the most amazing Maple Pecan cheesecake (don't you think of Maple syrup on steaming hot pecan pancakes when you think of Vermont?). It was a resounding success at work yesterday, and I heard we'll be getting orders very soon for the holidays.

Keep your fingers crossed, folks - we need to sell enough of these luscious deserts so that I can quit my day job and live in the fashion to which I'd like to become accustomed! (which simply means that we'll be baking and decorating full time, so that everyone who comes in contact with us will have a sugar induced smile on their face!)

For the time being, we are only set up to supply the locals (Manhattan and surrounding boroughs), but for you out-of-town-ers, don't worry - you'll have your day filled with mouth-watering biscotti and more, before you know it!

Want a FREE cheesecake (or 12)?

We're busy guys, and, as artistic as the two of us are, we just haven't had time to come up with a great logo for the company. So we're asking for some help. If you are the creative type (you know, a "right brain" thinker) why not come up with a design to help represent our concept and product? We're looking for something with clean lines, modern and eye-catching, which whets the appetite, is fun, and easy to reproduce on tee-shirts, bakery boxes, labels, neon signs (for our eventual brick and mortar bakery), and which says something about our personalities. Let your imaginations run wild!

All we ask is that you email your design to joeybiscotti@hotmail.com, along with your contact information, (full name, email address, and phone number), and we will review each and every submission with equal enthusiasm. The winner of this contest will get one free 9" cheesecake from the selection on our ever-growing menu per month for a year, starting when we put the design into actual use.

As a disclaimer, we may not use any of the designs submitted. Hey, we are a bit particular, and that's one of the reasons our baked goods taste so darned yummy! But if we DO, the winner will have the satisfaction of knowing that he/she has contributed to a growing entrepreneurship, which has been nurtured with love and good taste. We'll also, of course, give credit whenever possible.

Cheesecakes Galore!!!

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Who knew?

Who knew that mixing Creme de Menthe, cream cheese, and chocolate, would inspire one of the best tasting cheesecakes I've ever had in my mouth? Talk about a palate pleaser! Joey baked a fantastic Creme de Menthe cheese cake last night that caused a few of my co-workers to stand there, mouth a-gape, wondering how they'd lived this long without it.

I think the best compliment we've received lately is from a small handful of friends who admitted that they'd never liked cheesecake until they tried ours (beginning with the outstanding Caramel Apple version of two weeks ago). Now THAT is something to cheer about! As soon as Joey uploads the photos of this lovely green wonder, we'll post them here, to tantalize your taste buds.

Keep your eyes open!

Chocolate Toffee Bread Pudding

Need I say more? It was a huge hit at work yesterday (Steven here, folks)...I'd made it in a pan, but plan to sell it in single sized servings - it is SO delicious. Imagine cubes of rich, dark chocolate cake, soaked in a chocolate pudding mixture and layered with toffee...warm with a dollop of fresh whipped cream is best - but people even raved over it when it was cold fresh out of the fridge!

We have another hit on our hands!

Because of the season...

Joey, here... enjoying our latest yummy, but we have decided to call them Joey Autunnos (instead of IECs, see them naked below), because, although they are traditionally made in Italy for Easter, they are good all year round... And iced as they are in seasonal colors, we thought it would be a better name for them, at least during this time of year... In a couple of months, when winter befalls us, perhaps we shall call them Joey Invernos, and ice them in icy blues and whites, and sprinkle them with silver dragees...

And in other news, today, we began the process of making our own vanilla extract... It should be ready sometime between February and April 2008... If you'd like to know how we did it, email us...

More news as events warrant...

Still naked, but nice...

I just had to post a photo of the un-frosted IEC's (or Italian Easter Cookies)...they may resemble mini bagels or doughnuts (which is what they should look like) but once they're frosted, we'll see if they take on a life of their own.

Happy Easter!(?)

Ok, (Steven here), so it's not Easter, but today I spent a couple hours baking up some Italian Easter cookies...they're currently cooling and waiting to be ice'd later this afternoon. They smell lovely (one batch of almond, one of lemon)and they look so yummy, even naked as they currently are. But I've not tasted one, because, lets face it folks - I've put on a few pounds since all this baking began, and I MUST learn some self-control! (okay - I'll wait 'til they're ice'd and then have just ONE)
I've decided they're too labor intensive to put on our regular menu, but we'd happily make them for special occasions. They are shaped like little doughnuts, and normally frosted with Easter pastels, but I think I'm gonna ice them in Fall colors, since Fall IS supposedly here.

I'll let you know how they turned out!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Yummy!!! oh, and it was... SO yummy... Joey, here... So, I had the cheesecake at work by 1000am and by 1005a, it was... POOF!!! gone... okay, it was more like 1030a... but I was very proud of it... One co-worker came to find me to tell me that she never really liked cheesecake, but this was amazing... She asked me if I did the apples on top, and I told her that it was Steven's handy work... He's quite the enhancer!

Later in the day, another co-worker asked if he could buy one from me for his wife's birthday, so I now have an order for one!!! We are very excited!!!

This weekend, I hope to show Steven how to make biscotti and brownies the joey way...

More news as events warrant...