Photography by Mark O. Ramirez
BLEU Restaurant & Lounge
White Chocolate Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake
LEMON WHIPPED CREAM:
1 bag whipped cream
3 lemons, squeeze without seeds
Put whipped cream in bowl; fold in lemon juice slowly.
MACERATED STRAWBERRIES:
1 quart strawberries
2 cups sugar
Put in bowl, stir, and let set overnight.
WHITE CHOCOLATE BISCUITS:
5 pounds biscuit mix
7 cups whole milk
2 pounds frozen, shaved butter
4 cups sugar
4 cups white chocolate chips
1/8 cup vanilla extract
In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together; roll out and cut into biscuits.
Bake biscuits at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until soft and golden brown.
Assemble individual shortcakes with 1 white chocolate biscuit, 4 ounces strawberry mixture, 2 ounces lemon whipped cream, and garnish with
fresh mint.
ERLING JENSEN
Vanilla Cake with Italian Butter Cream Icing
BUTTER CREAM:
½ cup salted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup almond flour
2 teaspoons cardamom
Place egg whites in a mixing bowl of an electric mixer with the whip attachment. Combine sugar and water in a medium pot and stir over medium heat until 240 degrees. Whip egg whites to a soft peak and add in the sugar mixture. Add in all remaining ingredients to mixture after sugar is incorporated. Add in the butter last, at ½ tablespoon increments. Use immediately or store refrigerated in an airtight container.
OWEN BRENNAN'S
Bread Pudding
BREAD PUDDING
Take 3 loaves of stale bread and cube into ½ inch pieces. In a pot, mix 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 cup of heavy cream, ½ cup of sugar and seasonal spices; heat until simmering. In a mixing bowl, put 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks. Temper the eggs while adding the cream mixture. Once the liquids are mixed, pour over the cubed bread. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spray with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes and cool down before cutting.
RUM SAUCE:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons dark rum
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch, and stir into the butter. Pour in milk, and cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Serve warm.
SALUD!
at Whole Foods Market, Poplar Avenue
White Chocolate Lemon Blueberry Cheesecakes
BERRY TOPPING:
2 cups fresh blueberries, divided
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
CRUST:
6 ounces cinnamon graham crackers
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
FILLING:
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
2 8 ounces pkgs cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
Zest from 1 lemon, divided
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ tablespoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Place a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and push the puree though, leaving any skin/large chunks behind. Allow mixture to cool completely before using.
For the crust, finely grind the graham crackers and sugar together in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add butter and process just until moist clumps form – you may not need all of the butter; the mixture should be like wet sand. Line 2 muffin tins with liners and gently press a spoonful of the crumb mixture in the bottom of each cup. Set aside.
Over a double boiler, melt white chocolate. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and half of the lemon zest together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.
Carefully spoon the filling into the prepared cups. Spoon ½ teaspoon of the cooled berry reduction into the centers of the cakes, swirling with a knife but taking care to not drag along the bottom. Bake until the cakes are slightly puffed, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack for 3 minutes, then carefully remove the cups and transfer to a cookie sheet. Refrigerate to cool completely before serving.
Mix the reserved fresh berries in the berry reduction and spoon over the cooled cakes; garnish with the remaining lemon zest.
itta bena
Pecan Pie
½ pound honey
¼ ounce vanilla
2 ounces bourbon
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
4 eggs, whole
3 egg yolks
2 cup chopped pecans
Mix together honey, vanilla, bourbon, powdered sugar, and eggs. Place pecans in bottom of pie crust; pour filling over pecans. Bake at 250 degrees for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
JUDYPOUNDCAKES
One of Judy Douglass’ first memories is getting shooed out of the kitchen by her mother. While most children might have been deterred, this only piqued her curiosity. “My mom was known around town for her amazing cooking, “ she says. “Everyone knew her.” Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Judy says she grew up wanting to do something, anything, but she couldn’t quite find her calling. A smart cookie, for sure, she graduated from Millsaps College, but couldn’t find where her passion lay. “I didn’t know what my talent was,” she said. “I couldn’t sing, draw or dance.” Crestfallen, Judy turned to her mom, who espoused this advice: Just be good to your friends and make good food for them.
“This wisdom drove me,” she says. “It gave me a true purpose as it sparked my love for something.” With this in mind, Judy learned how to make pocket yeast rolls with her mom in her early 20s. This time around, Judy was impressing her mother by skipping steps and making the process easier.
Her first business foray was selling yeast rolls. But at $3 a bag, the work was laborious and she wasn’t making any profit. While she enjoyed baking, she needed to find a product she could sell that was cost-effective.
"Just be good to your friends and make good food for them."
Judy thought back to her mom’s specialty: Cinnamon Pecan pound cake. “I used to bring it as a teenager to my friends’ houses and they would just flip out over it,” she says.
Judy tinkered with her mom’s recipe and expanded on the flavors – her newest, Just Coconut, launched a few weeks ago. She also carries mini cakes. First selling to friends, customers can now find Judypoundcakes at: Whole Foods, Miss Cordelia’s, Superlo Foods, Buster’s Liquors and Wines, High Point Grocery, Palladio Antiques, and Doc’s Wine, Spirits and More; and online at judypoundcakes.com. In 2013, Judy leased a commercial kitchen to keep up with the demand. She is offering Mother’s Day Minis - little poundcakes - as part of her Spring promotional campaign, She Takes The Cake.
While Judy remains modest and humbled by her success, she says the secret ingredients are truly no secrets at all:
“I always tell people my cakes are made with butter and love,” she says. “A house is not a home without a Judypoundcake.”
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