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MadelaineCriden

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Posts posted by MadelaineCriden

  1. After checking out the stunning pictures posted throughout this topic, I am hesitant to post my creation, but here goes...

    It's a Chocolate PB & J Mousse Pie, adapted from this Black-Bottomed Peanut Butter Mousse Pie recipe, and it is absolutely to die for!

    Normally when I think of icebox/refrigerator pies I think of sickeningly sweet, leaden, cool whip-filled, pies, but this was really out of this world. I think the contrasts between the thick dark chocolate ganache, the light and creamy peanut butter mousse, and the tart homemade raspberry preserves made it stand out and taste more "adult" (if that makes sense). The adapted recipe is here, on my blog.

    -Maddy :smile:

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  2. I've never tried making them, but I can tell you when I was in college up in upstate NY (Clinton, NY, to be exact) there was a cider mill in town that had incredible apple cider donuts. They had two varieties: plain (sugared) and cinnamon-sugar. Mmm...how I long for those wiith a steaming cup of cider.

    Last year I tried the cider donuts at Union Sq farmer's market and they weren't nearly as good as the ones near my school...so I'm still living with that craving, suffice it to say. Maybe I'll try my hand at a batch...

  3. I have eaten at Central twice in the past two months and both times have been delicious. The first time I was there we sat in front of the chef's plating area (a real treat- definitely request this four-top if you can) and I had the vegetable torte (to die for) and the loup de mer. Second time around I had the ratatouille (a great rendition but the accompanying salad was overdressed with just olive oil and was totally superfluous) and the vegetable torte as my entree. I think you get the picture- get the vegetable torte! The loup de mer, if you are someone who will eat fish skin and likes the whole fish presentation, is also, excellent. I'm not even a fan of frisee lettuce, but with the rich fish and hearty sauteed wild mushrooms, it is a delicate and perfect match.

    How could I forget about dessert? My boyfriend and I shared the infamous kit kat bar the first time, and the second was a birthday celebration, so we requested a special dessert, which was to be the chef's choice, along with the apple pie-like dessert (cant remember the name, but its the only apple dessert on the menu). The apple dessert was fabulous, with the perfect crust, and not too sweet. The "special dessert" though, was truly a work of art. It was a HUGE version of the kit kat bar, with fresh berries, the brittle sauce, and a beautifully enscripted "Happy Birthday". I have seen a lot of birthday desserts in restaurants and this (esp since they had little prior notice) was truly all-star service.

    On a side note, did anyone catch Michel Richard on a Baking With Julia rereun a couple days ago on PBS/Create? He was incredibly fun to watch as he interacted with Julia, and seemed much more relaxed and jolly than reports seem to make him out to be. Does anyone even watch pbs food shows? For me, they're a million times better than the food network.

  4. Chicken Pot Pie with Easiest Pastry Crust

    Serves 3 as Main Dish.

    Chicken Pot Pie

    Makes 3 Servings

    2 1/2 cups chicken stock (broth is fine)

    2 large chicken breasts

    1 carrot, diced

    1 stalk celery, diced

    1 small onion, diced

    6 tbsp beurre manie (3 tbsp flour mixed with 3 tbsp oil or melted butter)

    vegetable oil, as needed

    1 egg, mixed with 1 tbsp water

    salt and pepper, to season

    1 sheet Frozen puff pastry or use the recipe below:

    Easiest Pastry Recipe:

    1. Mix 1 1/4 cups flour with 1/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cut in 6 tbsp diced cold butter. Mix in 4 tbsp water until dough just comes together, wrap in plastic and set in fridge. Roll out to 10” circle when you’re ready to cover your pie.)

    Method:

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking dish that has a diameter of about 9” (I prefer a cast iron dish, but any baking dish will work). Bring chicken stock to a boil in a 4 qt pot, turn down heat, and keep hot over medium heat, covered.

    2. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat with 1 tbsp oil in it, and add carrots, celery, onion and a pinch of salt.

    3. Meanwhile, set up another pan (that has a fitting lid) with 2 inches of water and heat on high. Place chicken breasts in pan, cover, and once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and shallow poach the chicken breasts for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. When cooked, remove from water to a clean cutting board and let cool slightly. Once cool, shread or cut into large dice.

    4. Add vegetables to chicken stock once golden brown and slightly soft. Add chicken also, then whip in beurre manie. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes, then pour into baking dish. (Note, you can stop here and refrigerate mixture, if you want to serve the dish tomorrow.)

    5. Place round of pastry crust (or puff pastry) on top of baking dish, ensuring that the pastry overlaps the side of the dish slightly, so you can crimp the sides shut. Brush top of pastry crust with egg mixed with 1 tbsp water and bake in oven on a sheet tray (to catch drips) for 20 minutes, or until top is golden and cooked through. Serve in shallow bowls and enjoy!

    Maddy

    CookLikeMad.com

    Keywords: Main Dish, American, Easy, Chicken, Dinner

    ( RG2098 )

  5. Soft Pumpkin Cookies (Pumpkin Cake Bites)

    Serves 15 as Dessert.

    Since the recipe calls for 1 cup of pumpkin puree and most cans are over 14 oz, use the extra for mini pie fillings, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, or freeze it in a ziplock bag to defrost when you want to make these cookies again- it won’t be long. Enjoy!

    Pumpkin Cake Bites (Soft Pumpkin Cookies)

    Makes 40 small cookies

    * 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

    * 1 teaspoon baking powder

    * 1 teaspoon baking soda

    * 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

    * 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

    * 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

    * 1/2 teaspoon salt

    * 1/2 cup butter, softened

    * 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

    * 1 egg

    * 1 cup canned pumpkin puree

    * 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    * 1/2 cup white or milk chocolate chips (or both)

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat or lightly grease it.

    2. Mix first seven ingredients (the dry ingredients) in a small bowl and set aside. Combine butter and sugar in another bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy and lightened in color, about 5 minutes.

    3. Beat in egg, then stir in pumpkin puree. Add dry ingredient mixture all at once and stir until just combined. At this point you can fold in white or milk chocolate chips if you;re making drop cookies, or if you;re piping the cookies, add the cookie dough to a pastry bag fitted with a tip at least 1/2” wide. Drop or pipe cookies onto baking sheet and if you piped the cookies, place one chip, white or milk, in the center of each cookie.

    4. Bake in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be fairly firm to the touch, but not dry, and they should only be barely browned on the top and bottom. Move to a rack, cool, and enjoy! Cookies keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

    Maddy

    CookLikeMad.com

    Keywords: Dessert, Cake, Easy, Snack, Cookie

    ( RG2097 )

    • Like 1
  6. Chocolate Dipped Pecan Meringues

    Serves 10 as Dessert.

    What I love about these cookies is not only that they’re easy and liked by all, but also that they have a certain adult quality about them. Its that almost-burnt flavor, that caramelized, brown sugar taste that deepens and balances the sweetness. They are crunchy, light, and even great without being dipped in chocolate, white or dark. Serve a few in a bowl with some raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries, add a little whipped cream or ice cream, and you have a more formal dessert. Whether you nibble on them with friends while watching football or enjoy them crushed into ice cream, cuddled up with a good book, enjoy!

    Chocolate-Dipped Pecan Meringues

    Makes 25-30 1 1/2” cookies

    1/2 cup pecans

    2 egg whites

    pinch salt

    1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

    1/8 cup white chocolate chips

    1/8 cup dark or milk chocolate chips (your choice)

    Method:

    1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees and lightly grease baking sheet, or better yet, use a silpat baking mat on top of the baking sheet.

    2. Pulse pecans in a food processor (preferably a small one) until coarsely ground. Take care not to over pulse, or else oils will release and coarse texture will be lost.

    3. Whip eggs whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form and add sugar slowly, while continuing to beat whites. Beat until stiff peaks form.

    4. Immediately fold in pecans, taking care not to deflate the egg whites (the sugar does help to stabilize them, though).

    5. Drop or pipe about a tablespoonful of batter onto baking sheet or mat, and leave 1” of room between cookies. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 285 degrees. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden all over. Cookies will still be slightly soft to the touch, but they will harden as they cool out of the oven, yielding a crunchy texture.

    6. While cookies cool, melt the chocolates in separate dishes in the microwave. Dip bottoms of the cookies in melted chocolate once completely cool and firm and place them on wax paper, then in the fridge, so the chocolate can harden.

    Note: white chocolate-dipped cookies will not need to be refrigerated to harden, but the milk or dark chocolate-dipped ones probably will.

    Enjoy!

    Maddy

    CookLikeMad.com

    Keywords: Dessert, American, Easy, Snack, Cookie

    ( RG2096 )

    • Like 1
  7. I've only lived in NYC since January, but I've already amassed a list of dishes/ prepared foods that after eating them, I realized I just wouldn't have wanted to have lived without trying them at least once (awkward sentence...sorry)

    I'm not talking about a "best of NYC" list here, although some "best ofs" will undoubtedly be mentioned, but instead your favorite dishes or prepared food items (like cookies, bagels, etc that aren't exactly "dishes") that you couldn't see living without having tried once.  Basically, you haven't lived a full foodie life if you haven't eaten these things in NYC.  Eventually, I'd like to expand this topic to more U.S. cities and even around the world, but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC.

    One stipulation: it has to be something that wasn't a fluke or on some seasonal menu, etc.  Someone should be able to check out this list and (fingers-crossed!) replicate the experience! 

    Here are a few off my list:

    City Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Gem Spa's Egg Cream

    Daniel's Sea Bass in a Crisp Potato Shell

    San Domenico's Egg Yolk-Filled Raviolo

    Mei Lai Wah's Roast Pork Bun (cha siu bao/siopao)

    Katz's Pastrami on Rye (ordered juicy, of course!)

    :laugh:

    Madelaine, welcome to the eGullet Society! You have posted an excellent but very difficult topic as your first one. As such, I look forward to more challenging topics like this.

    For me:

    Jean-George's turbot, Monte's clam sauce, Ferdinando's panelle special, Wylie Dufresne's squab (any time he and any way he makes it), fried dumplings at No.1 Dumpling, Grimaldi's 12 noon pizza, Otto's olive oil gelato are a few that pop into my head.

    Thanks, docsconz! I have been a member for a while but finally just got up the courage to post! Glad I did :smile:

  8. Ok, so there have been a few questions about the guidelines of this topic. Basically, I realize there are bagels available everywhere, but if you think ess-a-bagel is a memorable, not to be missed, one of a kind, bagel, then it makes the list because its something not-to-be-missed, and unique to NYC (it being from ess-a-bagel, not the fact thats its a bagel!-I'm not debating the origin of the bagel here...).

    For example, croissants are available all around the world, even homemade ones, and I won't argue with those who claim that France has the best croissants you'll ever find, because I agree. However, Te Adore on 13th and University makes really great ones, as does Payard, so I'd say that croissants from Payard are a food to have in NYC before you die, because you haven't fully lived if you haven't experienced their delicate, super flaky croissants made from scratch every day.

    Seems like all the posts so far are right in line with my original question, so if you're confused, I suggest just checking out other people's responses. Also, I think Shake Shack is a fine entry. :smile:

  9. I've only lived in NYC since January, but I've already amassed a list of dishes/ prepared foods that after eating them, I realized I just wouldn't have wanted to have lived without trying them at least once (awkward sentence...sorry)

    I'm not talking about a "best of NYC" list here, although some "best ofs" will undoubtedly be mentioned, but instead your favorite dishes or prepared food items (like cookies, bagels, etc that aren't exactly "dishes") that you couldn't see living without having tried once. Basically, you haven't lived a full foodie life if you haven't eaten these things in NYC. Eventually, I'd like to expand this topic to more U.S. cities and even around the world, but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC.

    One stipulation: it has to be something that wasn't a fluke or on some seasonal menu, etc. Someone should be able to check out this list and (fingers-crossed!) replicate the experience!

    Here are a few off my list:

    City Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Gem Spa's Egg Cream

    Daniel's Sea Bass in a Crisp Potato Shell

    San Domenico's Egg Yolk-Filled Raviolo

    Mei Lai Wah's Roast Pork Bun (cha siu bao/siopao)

    Katz's Pastrami on Rye (ordered juicy, of course!)

    :laugh:

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