Pastry Class

Although I have always loved to cook and bake, I have never had any formal training. But as my mind turns more toward pastries and farther from sports bras, I felt it was time to remedy that. I signed myself up for "Introduction to International Pastries" at King Arthur Flour in Norwich. After a week of intensive instruction and tasting, I feel a little more "professional".
We made dough: puff pastry, blitz puff pastry, pate brisee and pate sucree, pate a choux.
From the dough, we made napoleans, lemon meringue pie, sacristans and palmiers, galettes.
We made pastry cream, buttercream, almond cream, ganache, parisian cream.
We made tuiles, meringues, hazelnut cookies, almond horns, zaleti, amaretti, pecan icebox cookies, and rugelach.
We made tarts( one of the only lessons where I actually felt like I had some experience)- fresh fruit tarts, chocolate tarts, s'more tarts, linzer tortes.
We made a genoise and filled it with raspberry mousse, a hazelnut torte with layers of the ganache and buttercream previously made, an Italian citrus cake with lemon curd filling and swiss meringue frosting, and a flourless chocolate cake.
I tasted everything, a big step for me as I have a slight eating disorder which allows me to enjoy the way things look rather than the way they taste, but I'm working on that. I brought the "leftovers" to my overnight hosts and home to my family. I got lost on my way to my hosts' home due to an incredible sugar high- I very rarely eat so much sugar myself.
It was a wonderful week with a very patient and knowledgable teacher, Jeffrey Hamelman, and a very diverse group of women. I admire them all for having found what they love to do in life, and making it happen for themselves. Am I still searching? I am waiting for the sign.

Fall At Last

Fall has finally arrived, and at our house, 'Peak' is past. I am ready for the warm colors and flavors of fall vegetables. This week, the Roasted Root pizza has them all mingled together in oil and herbs in the oven, then spread over the base with soft goat cheese and herbs. I have been waiting for the new crop of cranberries to arrive in order to make a glorious gooey tart with almonds and caramel. The plump red berries add just the right tartness to the rich filling.
Soon we'll bring out the pumpkin desserts and decorated cookies. I am well into the apples we picked at Shelburne Orchard and Champlain Orchard, and love the spicy, sweet and tangy flavors of the different varieties. Our Holiday Catering Menu will be ready soon, so start thinking about your holiday get-togethers. We will have a lot of savory items as well as sweet treats.

Shelburne Orchards Small Farm Food Fest

On Sunday, September 10, we will be at the oven at Shelburne Orchard, www.shelburneorchards.com. It promises to be a great time for all, with plenty of entertainment as well as good things to eat from local producers. It is a celebration of community and local agriculture, so please join us all for a fabulous day.

I can't pick up a magazine or newspaper without reading about eating local. It's great that this simple mindset is finally getting positive press- I bet my grandmothers could share some recipes if they were still alive. One of my favorite Sunday dinners at Grandma Pete's house was corned beef and cabbage, the beef from a friend who corned his own, and cabbage, beets, carrots, and potatoes from the garden or root cellar. What a yummy early fall menu.

Eat Local Challenge

In my previous post, Local or Lifestyle, I hinted at the way my family eats, which is as close to the farm as possible. Although we ourselves are not participating in the August Eat Local Challenge hosted by eatlocalvt.org, at Pizza on Earth we will have one pizza special each week that will fit the bill for those people taking the challenge. Crust will be made from Champlain Valley Mills flour from across the lake, tomatoes, basil, and garlic will be supplied by Dave here at Stony Loam Farm ( where most of our vegetable toppings come from anyway), and cheese from Carlton at Champlain Valley Creamery in Vergennes. It's got to be good.