eG Foodblog: Wendy DeBord - Dessert, the most important meal.

[Bella S.F.]

A tried and true sticky bun recipe would be nice. And please introduce the other two kitties.

[Wendy DeBord]

Sorry it took me so long to get back. Today was a longer then usual day for me. I started at 9:00 am and left at 7:00 pm. I tried to take photos of most of what I was up to..........my lovely camera or it's software aren't being good (naturally when you need it) and I had several photos that wouldn't transfer. Oh well, here's how today went:

My stomach is always needyyyyyyyyyy at the time I arrive at work. I drink Fruit2o all day, everyday and to go with my f.2o I snacked on some anise shortbread cookies. The recipe comes from Claudia Flemmings pastry book (which is a great book). I'm not so sure grape and anise are a great flavor combo........but oh well the drink was aready open and I'm not that picky.

Today I needed to change over my ala carte menu. I used to change my ala carte menu once a week, but just recently I made some changes in the whole dessert department (well, I'm a one person department) and now I only change my menu every other week. Here's my menu as I write it out to work on. I used to write more details about my components, but I no longer do that. I do have some notes about what recipe I'm thinking about and or what I could make it it's place if that item fails or stinks.

I am one of those chefs who believes in tasting everything as I work. Most of the time the item doesn't need adjustment (because I work from very good recipes from very good chefs). Sometimes I'm totally winging the recipe and I'm working like a cook so I'm tasting and working out from there, then other times the recipes "seasoning" or "flavors" are more timid then I want so I add additional flavorings to taste. Then the worst thing happens and something stinks and you have to build on what you've got or pitch it and start over. I NEVER rely completely on a written recipe with-out tasting what I'm serving to know that I can stand behind that product if ever questioned. I do understand chefs that don't taste everything they make, their tired of an item or bored. But I think it's a huge mistake and your looking for trouble by not checking your work.

Enough preaching..........sorry.

Here's how my day went and most of the items I made:

First up was a Tiramisu Tart. This is based off Dorie Greenspans book, Paris Sweets (a terrific book as always from her), page 88 "Coffee Tart" she adapted from Pierre Herme'. I make several changes, but the end product does closely resemble Herme's intent. I use my own sweet tart dough and coat it thinnly with chocolate to protect the shell from absorbing moisture. Then I fill it with the coffee ganche as published, top that with purchased ladyfingers soaked in amaretto, hazelnut liqueur and coffee. Dories' recipe tops the ladyfingers with a coffee cream thats more or less stablized coffee infused whip cream. In it's place I put my regular tiramisu filling. I'll finish this dessert tomarrown before service.

Next up is a peanut butter pie. The recipe comes from an older magazine, but I don't recall which one off hand. This is my "Chefs Special" until the weekend.

[Irishgirl]

I have the same problem as you Wendy. I eat at work most of the time. I do have breakfast before I leave for work...but when your average day is 14 hours, and you have an assigned staff meal at 5pm...you find yourself eating things that are easy to grab.

I am allergic to something that I'm eating, but it's been way too hard trying to figure it out. I started a food diary, writing down all the things that I consumed during a day...nightmare!!!!!

The days that we do brunch are the worst. I eat croissants, and fruit and smoothie, and chocolate, and...and...and...

I feel your pain.

Don't be embarrassed. There are many of us who are just the same.

[Tepee]

I can't wait till you finish posting. I just want to reach out and give you the biggest kiss for showing the step-by-step of your glorious tiramisu tart and peanut butter pie...after such a long day at work. Mmmmmmmuah!

Edited April 13, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[Wendy DeBord]

To continue..........

My camera didn't transfer the photo of the peanut butter mousse in the graham cracker crust on top of the ganche..........I'll complete that tommarrow as my new menu goes into effect for tommarrows lunch.

I also have a item on my menu titled "On The Lighter Side". Orginially when I planned my menu out, yesterday.........I wanted to make a mango fruit plate topped with a gingered pineapple sauce. But when I arrived at work this morning we didn't have any mangos, which we usually do. My back up thought was to make a recipe from eGullets' Michael Laiskonis. It's a yogurt panna cotta. I'm following his recipe exactly...except that I'm using no fat yogurt in place of whole milk yogurt. The recipe can be found here: http://www.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=34919

I'm using the second recipe he offered that creates a firmer texture so my guys won't stuggle to unmold these, when they plate them. This is a terrific panna cotta..........just what you'd expect from Michael!!!

The rest of this dessert will be finished when plated, and consist of fruit since it's a lower cal. dessert.

Next up I made "Savannah Cream Torte". This recipe came from an older Chocolatier magazine. It's basicly angelfood cake suspended in a mousse. The original recipe calls for the mousse to be Sherry spiked. But I replace the sherry with h20 and kick up the vanilla with Nelson Massey's vanilla bean paste. Unforunately I don't have photos of this being made today, but I'll show you it tommarrow when I finish it.

Hey, it's lunch time and I was good. Our pantry man made me an auesome tuna wrap. It's comes with a side of basalmic dressing (which I can't spell) and I drank a peach flavored fruit2o: I ask him not to waste ingredients dressing up my plate with garnishes.

I was so proud of myself for stopping and sitting down to a decent lunch. I looked at the clock when I sat and it was 1:00 on the dot. After my relaxing lunch I looked back up at the clock and was shocked that this is what it read:

O.k. wait, I did only eat half, so I did come up for air once or twice.

I then made my "Brownie Torte" (which I did take photos of but they didn't load right). The concept from this stems from Oriol Balaguer's book "Dessert Cuisine", page 226. I use the Scott Wooley recipe that's posted in Recipegullet for my base. Those of you from the P & B Forum will remember it as the cake I offered in the search for the perfect chocolate cake. To that cake I make a chocolate mousse recipe from "L'Art des Entremets de France" by Bellouet and Perruchon, page 132. I like this particular mousse because of it's smooth texture......it's more like a chocolate cream then a mousse. I'll post photos of this tommarrow also.

Last ala carte item I had to make today was my Key Lime Cake (no photos untill tommarrow on this one too, sorry). I'll describe this tommarrow when I actually make it. I ran out of time today to begin this. Because we have a lunch party tommarrow for 100 people and I had to make that today as well. It's called "Lemon Mist Cake". It's a cake my Chef used to buy in before I came aboard. I've never tasted it and I make this as instructed from my Chefs memory. Basicly it's a yellow cake with lemon mousse layers and frosted in plain butter cream.

I use a cake mix for the yellow cake, Dawn brand. I've run out of pans and I had to use two different sizes, how embarrassing! Oh, I made extra because I need some cakes for Sundays brunch.

This is the whipping cream for the lemon mousse:

I enhance this lemon mousse recipe with lemon oil and lemon compound. I think they round out the lemon flavor that is missing from just lemon juice and peel:

Other happenings..........Ralphy came in to use the mixer (although he refers to it as MY mixer) and made some (as he calls them) kick ass twice baked potatoes. After I drooled over the smell he handed me a bowl. Darn it, lost photos of that shot too. You can trust me, they really were "kick ass"! They sell like crazy here!

After coming home from work I did eat dinner, at 7:00 pm which I'm hoping won't activate my heart burn. If it does I suppose I'll post on this thread all night..... Oh, what I ate.........the other half of that tuna wrap followed by a handful of M & M's (my nightly chocolate fix).

[Wendy DeBord]

Wow, I can't believe how many times you all made me smile reading your comments......THANK-YOU!

I'll try to answer some of the previously posted questions:

The other cats are........Dukie (he's the brown cat reaching for my pecan roll).........his name stems from the fact that he was so darn cute as a kitten we used to call him "oh you cute little shit" and we worked out a name that fit him. He's the MOST auesome cat in the WORLD! He goes outside with me walking freely on his red leash, that's quite a site. He's really a dog trapped in a cats body. Our world revolves around that animal. Alice, as I call her (she came from my step granddaughter who named her alley cat) is the nut on the chair. She's totally my husbands mistress. Hawkeye beats her up when ever she comes near me so she stays by hubby.

Hum.........I think I might have the best pecan rolls in the world. I can't say that about everything I make but I've never tasted any better. I won't be making them again for several weeks..........gosh I have so many other goodies I need to get out of my system before repeating.........We can talk about them and the recipe in the Pastry & Baking Forum when I complete this weeks blog, please come and visit!

[Wendy DeBord]

Does the weather have a large impact on how busy you are or do member come and hang out and eat even if it's rained for a month?

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Well that's hard to answer, lots of factors go into when we're slow and busy. All golf season were crazy busy. It doesn't stop until we close January 1st for the month. Then it's slowish until golf season re-opens. BUT it's all depends upon what you consider slow. We are actually the busiest CC I've ever worked at. We average about 150 covers every night in golf season and for holidays we do anywhere between 250 to 600 people on top of daily banquets. Some days we have as many as 6 banquets, somedays they are small 25 people or so some days they're over 200. Slow for us is probably closer to busy for other private CC's.

WHY, I attribute it to my Chef. We are the best dining in the county, in my opinion....and we're very inexpensive as far as private clubs go.

[Wendy DeBord]

Any ideas for using frozen puff pastry or filo?

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Yes, tons and tons. I don't quite have enough time in my schedule right this minute to go into detail on this, but I'd be more then happy to talk about that topic in The Pastry & Baking Forum at a later date.

[Wendy DeBord]

What are the desserts that you really enjoy making? What is your favorite to eat? Always wanted to ask a pastry chef these two things. Oh, and what is the dessert you keep making only because people like it so much, despite how boring/annoying it is for you to prepare?

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I really do love making anything to do with baking. The only think I don't like to make is something repetively. My favorite dessert is probably a napoleon and I'm not sure why.........oh I also could kill for a great cannoli! The thing that I make the most that's sort of annoying to me is danish. It does get repetitive after a while.

[Wendy DeBord]

I have a question too--what is the one item you've produced that you're most proud of? (And do you have a picture?)  I remember seeing your posts with the pictures about the Easter-themed table you did at the club last year--so impressive!

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I'm most proud of the sweet tables I put together. Because they involve so much detail in so little time and I can use some artistic skills making them. I 'think' there aren't alot of pc's that do sweet tables quite like mine.........in the regard that I try to follow a tight theme with visuals. I may make a very fancy torte but usually it's hidden under the themed decorative nature of the item. Verses pc's that put out fancy pastries. For me, fancy pastries are really the norm, so I 'try' to create more of a fantasy. I never acheive perfection like what you'd see in a pastry competition! But I'm proud to be able to feed 500 plus people something visually different. If I run out of things to post on, I'll post more sweet table photos in my blog.

[Wendy DeBord]

What is the one item you make that you most look forward to tasting?

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Every new recipe. I love to constantly be making new items. Some weeks I get to try as many as 20 new recipes. The educational aspect of trying some famous chef or authors recipe is very exciting to me. I love learning.

[chefzadi]

Hi Wendy-

I can't even believe you're doing this after a full days work!

What is the average number of desserts the club sells per day? Price range? WIll you be getting an oven and a frigo in your station eventually?

[Wendy DeBord]

´

If things go slow at work I'd be happy to make anything pastry wise anyone wants to watch me eat.

This is quite possibly the most eGullet sentence anyone has ever written.

I am excited to see a pastry chef in action. So is it true you guys are very precise?

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Gee, thanks!

And yes we are precise, but that's because our products demand it, literally. We have tempetures and proceedures that we must hit or our product flops. Our products don't wait for us, we have to be ready when the product is at the right stage.

I have heard people refer to us in less kind words then "precise"..........so if that has any deeper meaning..........yeah it's probably true. We are very different in nature then hot side chefs.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for doing this eG Food Blog, Wendy. I am really looking forward to seeing more of what you do. I've already learned something as a really green newbie home baker that has been worth the price of admission: the plastic bag over your mixer.

[Wendy DeBord]

oh-oh! Can you show us how to make ....Bear Claws and Napoleons?

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I'd be happy to. I have a brunch on Sunday that will require breakfast pastries so I'll make some Bear Claws (I love them too). Napoleons..........I was thinking of making this Thursday for my ladies luncheon. So unless something interfers with that you'll see both in a couple days.

[*Deborah*]

Thanks for doing this eG Food Blog, Wendy. I am really looking forward to seeing more of what you do. I've already learned something as a really green newbie home baker that has been worth the price of admission: the plastic bag over your mixer.

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I thought I was weird for putting a tea towel over! I will have to try with plastic !

[kthull]

Hey, this is great stuff Wendy. Thanks so much for sharing. And don't be embarrassed about how you eat. I've been guilty of the same on many occasion. In fact, last night's dinner consisted of a good sized chunk of white cake, topped with Girl Scout caramel delight ice cream, drizzled with fresh brewed coffee...damn tasty for a spur of the moment thing. I mean, I made fish, but it tasted funky, so all that was left was sweets!

I can't wait for more of your story.

P.S. I found an incredible new pastry shoppe in Geneva. PM me if you want the info.

[prasantrin]

Will you be posting accompanying recipes elsewhere? I'd love the recipe for your sticky buns...and peanut butter pie....yum yum!

[Wendy DeBord]

Tea kettle is on, as I try to wake up my brain this morning I'll post some photos. These don't need much explaination. I will admit I had to show close ups because as a pc I know other pc's would want to see the titles. Also I have very few magazines on my book cases because I don't leave them whole. I cut out all the recipes I'm interested in and put them in my files.

[albiston]

Just one thing to say to your book collection Wendy.

WOW!!!

[Wendy DeBord]

Forgive me, I'm still not awake. In the mean time I'll post more photos. These are from this years Easter. We had 530 people and I was a runner for the Chefs food.........so what I could do, HAD to be a buffet that didn't need to be refilled at all, because I couldn't while running hot entree's for my Chef.

I had exactly 1 week to do this. Normally I'd take 2 and even 3 weeks to work toward feeding so many for a holiday buffet.....but we were too busy and that's all the time I could squeeze out.

I'm not proud of this work. The skill level is very low, but I had to spend my time on volume. Normally I wouldn't want anyone to see these but I want to show you all the realities of this job.

This large sugar egg I did make in advance.....thanks to always working ahead as much as possible:

[kthull]

That is one serious library! I only wish I saw something that impressive at local bookstores.

I know you've mentioned a few books here and on the P&B forum, but can you list some of your all time favorites? Especially those that you are using currently.

Thanks!

[Wendy DeBord]

oops, I meant to hit the preview post button and missed.

I had some problems loading photos and it used up my time this morning. I'll be back and show you todays diet.........including the cappuccino I've already drank.

[Pan]

[...]My back up thought was to make a recipe from eGullets' Michael Laiskonis. It's a yogurt panna cotta. I'm following his recipe exactly...except that I'm using no fat yogurt in place of whole milk yogurt. The recipe can be found here: http://www.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=34919

[...]

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I'm loving this blog, Wendy! I can only second what Chefzadi wrote, that it's amazing you can upload so much stuff, given your schedule! This would be impressive even for someone who had plenty of free time all day.

The link above doesn't work, though. Click the following link for the yogurt panna cotta recipes:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34919

[Wendy DeBord]

That is one serious library! I only wish I saw something that impressive at local bookstores.

I know you've mentioned a few books here and on the P&B forum, but can you list some of your all time favorites? Especially those that you are using currently.

Thanks!

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I've been collecting for several years now and I do have more "better books" then any book store around. I really enjoy my books.....I'm sort of a book-a-cholic.

Any book published on Herme's work or by him and Dorie Greenspans books are really knock outs. I do use ALOT of recipes I've gathered from Chocolatier magazine and Pastry Art & Design..........and recipes I've gotten from people here at eG.