It’s finished at last!!!  (The bakery has been 90% completed for a while now, but our finishing touches just went in.)  And so, I am proud to present the all-new, redesigned, Crown Market Bakery Department. Drum roll please…

And just to show how “new and improved” we really are…

We gutted the bakery and had all new custom cabinetry and woodwork installed along the back wall.  We purchased brand new showcases, as well as new shelving and all kinds of fun things that only I would find exciting (think wrapping stations and self-serve refrigerated cases – yes, I am a pastry dork.)  Warm green paint, chalkboard signs and pendant lighting help to add that warm, fresh-bread-from-the-oven bakery feeling.  The space now appears much larger, more open, and certainly more inviting, even though we actually lost some square footage.  Just goes to show how important it is to use the space you have to its best potential.

A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this redesign.   Thank you to Erin, Mark and the whole Crown Bakery Team for all their hard work!

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Watermelon Cookies

These are the new “Summer” cookies at work.  While they don’t taste like watermelons, they sure do look like them.   To make these cookies, we cut large circles from rolled out dough and then half the circles to achieve our “watermelon slice” shape.  After they are baked, we spread a thin coat of icing (colored pink, of course) and pipe on the rest of the details.  These would certainly be fun to serve at a BBQ as a small treat, especially if served alongside real watermelon slices.

Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I was really tired and almost to the point of suggesting take-out, but I had to pick up some prescriptions, so off to the grocery store I went (I use my in-store grocery pharmacy).   While I was waiting for my prescriptions, I started to peruse the produce section.  I was pretty sure I was going the bagged salad route – a 5 minute, add some grilled chicken, call it a day meal.   However, a large display of portobello mushrooms caught my eye (on sale of course) and I decided I would cook.  Even the most tired of people could not have turned up these beauties.  I turned around and spinach was buy-one-get-one and the meal began to take shape.  I grabbed a tomato and headed to the cheese section.  To my luck, my a log of my favorite brand of goat cheese was about to go out of code and was therefore 50% off.  (This is a good shopping tip – when produce, meat or other perishable products get close to their sell-by date, many stores will discount the item.  As long as you use the food that night, there is nothing wrong and you usually get a great deal.)

So I headed home with my prescirption, portobellos, spinach, a tomato and a small log of herb goat cheese.  I knew the general dish I was going for, but wanted to see if there were any special ways to jazz up a simple mushroom.  I found a great marinade on epicurious.com (this should be your culinary internet go-to, after the blog of course:)  and allowed the whole portobellos to sit in a great blend of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy, marsala wine and some herbs and spices.  The original recipe called for a 4 hour marinating time, but since I was originally thinking take-out, that simply wasn’t happening.  I got the mushrooms soaking as soon as I got home, but by the time dinner rolled around they couldn’t have been marinating more than a hour and they turned our great.  Portobellos are easy to marinate because you can use their cap shape to your advantage.  When the marinade is poured over the mushrooms, a large amount collects in their cap and is allowed to soak.  Portobellos on their own are always great, but the addition of a couple of key flavors really helps to make this a WOW dish. (more…)

Classic, Passion, Watermelon & Blackberry Mojito

If I had to nail down a favorite cocktail, (although I must admit, I try to be an equal opportunity cocktail drinker) my favorite would be the classic mojito.   This refreshing cocktail is made of 5 simple ingredients:  Lime juice, fresh mint, rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane syrup), and club soda.  Originating in Cuba, the drink combines tart lime with fresh sweet mint, all to compliment the clean kick of white (or dark, depending on your preference) rum.  To me, there is nothing more refreshing or satisfying on a hot day than a well-prepared mojito.

To make a mojito,  lime juice is added to mint and sugar in the bottom of a glass (a highball is the glass of choice for this particular cocktail – its so pretty you need to show it off!)  The three ingredients are then mashed with a muddler.  A muddler is a long stick with a flat bottom that helps to crush and release the juices and oils from the mint and lime.  I like to use sugar syrup in place of granulated so that the sugar dissolves completely.  (There is nothing worse than a clump

Muddler

of sugar swimming around in the bottom of your glass.)  To stay as authentic as possible, I make a sugar syrup using sugar in the raw, which helps to impart an “island” flavor to the drink.  (Sugar in the raw is an unrefined sugar that is made from sugar cane juice.)  Once you have created a great slurry of fresh flavors, add the rum, ice, a splash of soda and you are ready to go!  Sit back and enjoy. (more…)

This recipe is titled ricotta cheesecake, however I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a cheesecake.  I admit that I was not anticipating the texture of cake that I ended up with.  Instead of a smooth, creamy, somewhat dense cake, this ricotta cake lends itself to a light and fluffy texture.  With more subtle flavors of ricotta and a touch of lemon zest, the cake is a nice clean canvas.  I think this would be perfect to serve with tea or coffee in the afternoon – possibly an addition to a brunch.  However, as a dessert, I think it could use a little jazzing up.

I wanted to create a dessert that mimicked the light, airiness of the cake; I did not want to weigh the cake down with the addition of heavy flavors.  Trying to stay in season, I spread a thin layer of lemon curd (you can make your own, or buy good quality at the stores these days) and then topped the cake with an assortment of fresh berries.  This way the topping did not detract from the cake, but helped to give it the little extra umph that made the cake a Dessert – not just a simple cake. (more…)

This cake was made for a Baby Naming.  The highlight of this cake is clearly the edible 3-D baby blocks that sit on top of the cake.  To create the baby blocks, I formed rice krispy treats into small squares.  To ensure smooth sides, I used a serrated knife to trim each side of the block to remove all the “krispy bumps.”  Next, I iced each block with a thin layer of buttercream.  This helps not only to fill in the gaps the occur naturally in a rice krispy treat and further smooth the sides, but also helps the fondant to stick to the treat.  After each block was trimmed and iced, I then covered them with white fondant.  The letters and decorations (the sides of the blocks have bottles, ducks, carriages, etc that aren’t visible from the pictures) were cut from fondant and then applied with a small amount of water.  (Because fondant is a sugar prodcut, a little water makes the surface tacky and it sticks to itself quite nicely).  To finish off the blocks, I piped the boarders with royal icing.  After the royal dried on each block, I was able to carefully transfer the blocks onto the sheet cake.

Sangria Sundays are back!  Now that Summer produce is creeping into local supermarkets, I have decided to reinstate “Sangria Sunday”.  On these heavenly days of the week, Scott and I test out new Sangria recipes.  Sometimes I create new recipes, other times I simply test existing recipes (this recipe is from Ingrid Hoffmann).  This week’s version, “Green” sangria, highlights kiwis, green apples, and green grapes and  is paired with orange liquor and a crisp, clean Sauvignon Blanc. (I used “2 Buck Chuck,” the value wine label distrusted by Trader Joe’s.   Each bottle is $2.99 – hence the name.)  I was pleasantly surprised by this light and refreshing sangria – definitely a winner!

Like most sangria recipes, this one is quick and easy to assemble.  For best results, I suggest allowing your fruit, sugar syrup, and liquor to “marinate” overnight.  This really helps to meld the flavors.  Because Sangria is best made the night before, it’s a great addition to any entertaining menu.  Your guests will love this fruity wine cocktail – no matter the occasion.  A brunch would benefit greatly from a light and refreshing sangria, (much like this particular recipe) while a casual, spicy dinner would pair well with a more traditional red sangria.

Enjoy this fun new Sangria twist that highlights some of our favorites green fruits!

Recipe: Green Sangria