#IACPNYC Bound!

For the next week, we're headed to New York City to attend the IACP conference, as well as spend a day at the CIA, eating our way through restaurants and visiting my former chefs. I'm so excited to get off island and travel to NY with my husband, and we're ready to meet friends and eat some delicious foods!

I've worked with Jackie of The Diva That Ate NY, in the Social Media Committee, and it's been such a great experience connecting with Twitter friends. Looking forward to meeting both her and Judith, our fearless leader, at the conference! Other friends that will be there are Michelle of Sweet & Simple, Elizabeth of Asian in American, and SO many more!

Screen Shot of the IACP website

Looking forward to attending some sessions, as well as the Book and Blog Festival! You can follow the conference tweets by checking out the Twitter hashtag #IACPNYC. I'll be live tweeting and possibly blogging during the conference, so watch my tweets for updates! See you in New York!

Below I'm adding some of the events open to the public during the conference, so if you're in the area, make sure to stop by and say hello! (Excerpted from IACP Press Release)

IACP Book + Blog Festival – The country’s largest gathering of leading food writers, cookbook authors
and bloggers takes place Sunday, April 1, 1:30 – 4:30 pm at 82 Mercer St. Meet leading authors
including Karen Page & Andrew Dornenberg, Melissa Clark and Alice Medrich, or discover dozens of new
ones at this festive afternoon of books, music, and freebies. Tickets, $10, available at https://kiosk.eztix.co/kiosk/4891

White House Chefs Move to Schools Culinary Workshops – Michelle Obama’s initiative to end
childhood obesity by pairing chefs with schools joins the weekend lineup with Food Network star Ellie
Krieger and White House pastry chef and cookbook author Bill Yosses hosting half day workshops on
Sunday, April 1, at 82 Mercer St. Topics range from running a school cooking class on a shoe string, to
food policy on kids, to funding healthy eating from garden to table to classroom. Tickets, $40, available
for morning and afternoon sessions, at https://kiosk.eztix.co/kiosk/4984

“School” Lunch with Chef Bill Telepan - Chef Bill Telepan infuses culinary magic to whip up a luncheon
feast, using nutrition and budgetary guidelines, to show how good public school lunch can be. The
fundraiser on Sunday, April 1 at 12:15 pm, at the French Culinary Institute, benefits The Culinary Trust,
Wellness in the Schools and Future Cooks Initiative. Guests will dine at communal tables. Tickets, $35,
may be purchased at https://kiosk.eztix.co/kiosk/4984

Today's Special - One Night Only - The Culinary Trust hosts a pop up restaurant based on Aasif Mandvi's
feel-good foodie film Today's Special. The menu is planned by cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, who
stars with Aasif Mandvi in the film, and will make welcoming remarks. Sunday, April 1 at L'Ecole, 462
Broadway. Tickets, $150, for seatings at 5:30 and 8:30 pm, may be purchased at https://kiosk.eztix.co/kiosk/4984

Etsy Showcase: Paradise Sweets

One of my favorite things about social media is being able to share new cookbooks, ingredients, and culinary trends. Today is a special day since I am sharing a brand new Etsy shop launched last month (February 2012) by one of my friends, the talented baker Aubrey A'ea. We met while studying at the CIA, and Aubrey was always the detail-oriented baker and you can definitely see that this attention to detail is showcased in her shop, Paradise Sweets!

Located on the island of O'ahu, specifically in Honolulu, Aubrey crafts these Paradise Sweets with the freshest ingredients available, making sure that the flavors are perfect! And after making the delicate sugar cookie, she decorates each and every one with a sugar icing coating and can personalize them to your liking. Just look at the camera cookies below! Have a photographer in your life with a sweet tooth? These would be perfect gift and can be shipped right to their door!

"Paradise Sweets products are baked and decorated fresh to order and shipped out from HAWAII! Everything is made from scratch with local, quality ingredients. You will taste sweet sunshine in every bite!" -Aubrey

Cooking with Books had a chance to catch up with Aubrey and ask her some questions about baking, small businesses, and her favorite cookie! 

Cooking with Books: What's you favorite treat to bake and eat?

Aubrey from Paradise Sweets: Favorite thing to bake and eat would have to be... Snickerdoodles. That's what I grew up baking with my mom and grandmothers. There is nothing better than smelling the sweet cinnamon and then eating them hot and fresh! Plus it's a nice trip down memory lane! 

 Cooking with Books: Any advice for bakers wanting to start their own online shop?

Aubrey of Paradise Sweets:

• Take pictures of everything you make. Everything. At a brick-and-mortar bakery, you can sell based on smell alone. On the Internet, you've only got pictures and your words. Make it good, then make it LOOK good. 
• Experiment with what works best. Use natural lighting, interesting backgrounds, and add color if your baked goods are brown or off-white (as most cookies are!). Write down notes when you do things differently, so you can remember. 
• Do research on what other shops are selling, but be unique. I'll often look around for cookie inspiration but I try to make things different and my own. I'm thrilled when I can't find any inspiration because it really forces me to be creative!
• Test out your shipping practices. Do research on pricing, then send things out to someone you trust to give you honest feedback. Were things broken? You need more padding. Tasted stale? Use better, air-tight packaging. Looked unprofessional? Consider dressing it up a bit. I sent out test packages to California and NY, noted the time it took to get there and the state they arrived in.
• Always always always make extra. In case something breaks, doesn't turn out right, or you just *need* to do a taste test. I'll always put in a couple extra cookies.
• Don't worry if the sales don't start right away. It takes time. Get some local sales under your belt too. Ask people you know to hand out your business cards or spread the word. A lot of my business comes from word-of-mouth. And guess what, that's free!

Thanks Aubrey for the fantastic tips and we wish you the best in this new venture! And readers, I can vouch for these cookies: they're perfectly decorated, with a sweet icing and a buttery sugar cookie. Oh and they shipped from Hawaii to Martha's Vineyard and not one cookie suffered a break!

Order some cookies for a loved one today: Visit Paradise Sweets on Etsy

Connect with Aubrey and Paradise Sweets: Like Paradise Sweets Facebook Page

Silent Sunday: Roasted Grapes

Roasted Grapes. Sweet globes, enhanced with Niagara Ice Syrup. This post is a short post to tease you into some other recipes that will soon be coming up on here using Niagara Ice Syrup. 

Before & After

Roasted Ice Syrup Grapes

1 bunch of red grapes

2 tablespoons Cabernet Franc Ice Syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Wash and remove stems from the grapes. Pat dry and place on sheet tray.
3. Drizzle Cabernet Fran Ice Syrup over grapes and toss lightly.
4. Roast for 30 minutes. Cool and store in airtight container in the fridge.
5. Uses: toss in salad, serve alongside roasted pork, or better yet, with a slice of pound cake and whipped cream. The possibilities are endless!

Disclaimer: Post sponsored by Niagara Ice Syrups. No monetary compensation was exchanged. Opinions based on my personal testing and tasting.

The Hunger Games: Strawberry Bread

The Hunger Games. If you haven't heard, read, or lived them, then you must be living on another planet! The Hunger Games are a three-part series of books by Suzanne Collins. The first book, I read in less than 48 hours. The second book, I was wait listed at the library for the longest week of my life and when I got my hands on it, I tried to space it out and read it in a week. The last one...I just couldn't space out and read it in about 3 days. So when I heard there was "The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook" by Emily Ansara Baines, I knew I had to have to, cook from it, and then share with you all!

Thanks to the folks over at F+W Media, this book reached me just in time to post on the day that The Hunger Games movie premieres in most movie theaters. Of course, living on the Vineyard has its downfall and movies don't premiere at the same time as the entire nation, so I will sadly not be watching this movie today, but hopefully soon enough!

The book is filled with recipes for almost, if not all, the dishes in the books. Some of the chapters include recipes for:

• Mrs. Everdeen's Breakfast of Mush
• Cheesy Meaty Hash Brown Casserole
• French Bread from the Mellark Family
• Peeta's Cinnamon Bakery Bread
• Prim's Sweet Goat Cheese Salad
• Rue's Roasted Roots
• Plutarch Heavensbee's Roast Wild Turkey
• Tigri's Fig Cookies

After flipping through the book and reading the author's inventive recipe creations, I settled on making the Opportunistic Strawberry Bread, not only because berries have such great meaning in the original books, but because I've never made Strawberry Bread!

Made with whole wheat flour and no artificial sugars, this bread is fantastic as a breakfast loaf! The fresh berries lace it, creating small pockets of berry explosion. I had some freeze-dried strawberries, which I pulverized and added to the batter before baking to amp the strawberry flavor. It's a rustic looking bread that is a perfect vessel for a slathering of cream cheese or to eat as is, so definitely give this recipe a try!

Opportunistic Strawberry Bread

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" - More than 150 Recipes Inspired by The Hunger Games Trilogy (F+W Media, December 2011; $19.95) by Emily Ansara Baines

It’s likely that Katniss isn’t the only one aware of the mayor’s penchant for strawberries. In fact,
Peeta’s father, perhaps recognizing an opportunity to support his family, probably makes this yummy
strawberry bread specifically to sell to the mayor!
(The Hunger Games, Chapter 4)

Makes 1 loaf

¼ cup honey
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1½ cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9" loaf pan.
2. Add honey and butter to beaten egg and blend.
3.  Put flour and baking powder in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
4. Pour in egg mixture and add strawberries. Blend well.
5. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake about 1 hour. Bread is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
6. Cool 10–15 minutes before removing from pan.

Share with us: Are you a Hunger Games fan?  Tag your tweets with #UnofficialHG and share with @adamsmedia!

Marshmallow Madness!

After you make your first homemade marshmallow, you will NEVER go back to those artificial ones that come in a plastic bag! And after you get your hands on Shauna Sever's new cookbook all about marshmallows, you might spend endless weeks making marshmallows in all shapes, colors, and flavors! 

Marshmallow Madness!, recently released on Amazon and bookstores in your city, is by Shauna Sever and printed by Quirk Books; she is best known for her delicious blog "Piece of Cake".  Her approachable personality and simple recipes create confidence in first time bakers. She'll bring you in with her casual and knowledgeable voice, and take you step by step, in this case, in making the best tasting marshmallows you've ever tasted!

When I received my review copy of Marshmallow Madness!, my hands started squishing the puffy book. Creatively bound in puffy material and a book cover filled with colorful mallows, it invites you to peruse its pages and find just the right recipe for you. I decided to recreate her Key Lime Pie Marshmallows, light green mallows with bright lime flavor and added crunch with a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs.

A dessert all in itself, these marshmallows are the type of creative genius you'll find in her book. Other recipes I'll be trying: Malibu Marshmallows, Maple-Bacon Marshmallows, and her Mango-Chile-Lime Marshmallows! Also, you can check out #marshmadness and see what other bloggers made!

Thanks to the generous folks at Quirk Books, today I'm sharing Shauna's Classic Vanilla Marshmallow recipe, a great starting point for those making marshmallows for the first time. Mastering this recipe will let you experiment with more flavorings by adjusting the extracts you add! But that's not all! Like I said, Quirk Books are really generous tweeps and are giving away THREE puffy copies of Marshmallow Madness to three Cooking with Books readers. Scroll down to enter!

Classic Vanilla Marshmallows

Reprinted with permission of Quirk Books from "Marshmallow Madness" by Shauna Sever, 2012

Makes: About 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch mallows

THE BLOOM
4 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cold water

THE SYRUP

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt

THE MALLOWING

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup Classic Coating plus more for dusting

Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

WHISK TOGETHER the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and let soften for 5 minutes.

STIR TOGETHER the sugar, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup, water, and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 240°F. Meanwhile, pour remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Microwave gelatin on high until completely melted, about 30 seconds. Pour it into the mixer bowl. Set the mixer speed to low and keep it running.

WHEN THE SYRUP reaches 240°F, slowly pour it into the mixer bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes. Increase to medium-high and beat for 5 more minutes. Beat on the highest setting for 1 to 2 minutes more and beat in the vanilla; the finished marshmallow will be opaque white, fluffy, and tripled in volume. Pour it into the prepared pan, using an offset spatula to smooth it into the corners. Sift coating evenly and generously over top. Let set for at least 6 hours in a cool, dry place.

Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan. Invert the slab onto a coating-dusted work surface and dust it with more coating. Cut into whatever size pieces you wish (a pizza cutter works great for squares). Dip the sticky edges of the marshmallows in more coating, patting off the excess.

Variation: Super vanilla-ize these mallows by adding a scraped vanilla bean or dab of pure vanilla bean paste along with the vanilla extract.

 Marshmallow Madness Giveaway!

To enter, leave ONE comment on this post telling me your DREAM marshmallow flavor. The comments are the official entry, there is no purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Three (3) winners will be chosen randomly. Prizes will be shipped by publisher. The contest ends Sunday, March 25th, 2012 at 11:59 pm Eastern. The winner will be announced on Monday March 26th. 

Disclaimer: Quirk Books sent me a review copy of this book, but I was under no obligation to review or host giveaway.

Tex-Mex Butternut Squash Soup

Today's post is short and sweet because I want you to get out and enjoy the FIRST DAY OF SPRING!! Can you tell I'm extremely excited?! It's cause I am. I'm ready to say goodbye to winter, and this soup is the farewell. It might just been the last comforting, warm soup you'll see on the blog for a while. I'm ready for cold soups, salads, sandwiches, and lobster rolls! I'm ready for feeling gritty sand between my toes and the warm sunshine on my face. So, are you ready to say goodbye to winter with me? Keep reading!

This soup fulfills that craving, layering sweet potato, earthy squash, constant heat from dried habanero, and starts off with a great mirepoix. You can use homemade stock or store bought, whichever you have on hand. Why Tex-Mex? I have no clue. What makes a dish Texan-Mexican? Just because I added hot peppers, corn chips, hot sauce...it might not be real Tex-Mex, but it's close enough for me!

Tex-Mex Butternut Squash Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped

2 small carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 liters stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)

1 dried habanero pepper

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped

salt & peppers to taste

Garnishes: Cheese, Blue Corn Chips, Hot Sauce

1. In a medium sauce pot,  heat olive oil and add onions, carrots, and celery. Make sure they are consistent in size, but shape does not matter, as everything will be pureed. 
2. Cook until onions are translucent. 
3. Add stock and dried whole habanero pepper (you can omit this for less heat). Simmer for 10 minutes, until it comes up to a slow boil. 
4. Add squash and sweet potato. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Taste! Remove the dried habanero. If not, it will get pureed and be overwhelming in the soup.
5. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the soup while hot. Transfer back to pot and slowly simmer until ready to serve. Re-season if needed.
6. To serve: Serve in deep bowls and top with your favorite cheese, blue corn chips for color and hot sauce for another layer of flavorful heat. 

Share with us: How do YOU say goodbye to winter? 

Maple Persimmon-Caramel Drops

It's Maple Monday!!! Virtual Potluck wanted to get in on the sugaring time, where maple sap flows freely and maple growers are busy collecting it, reducing it, and making it into what we know as maple syrup and sugar! When I received maple sugar from Coombs Family Farms, I knew I wanted to make a "healthier" baked good. Maple Sugar, you ask? I found this site that explained how to make three types of maple sugar, which could definitely be a fun experiment to try in 2012. This particular sugar came from the folks over at Coombs Family Farm, and not only do I love it, but I love their commitment to sustainability and tradition. They express it better here:

Since the mid-1800’s, the Coombs family has been acting as responsible stewards of the forest, following a ‘sustainable’ approach to agriculture long before anyone had a specific name for it – or could conceive of any other way to farm. As part of a fabric of nearly 8000 maple farmers who are all preserving maple forests and keeping land free from sprawl, Coombs Family Farms is doing more than making maple. We are helping to preserve crucial habitat for thousands of distinct plants and animals that need large intact tracts of forest to survive.

When deciding what to make, I settle on a combination of flavors: persimmon, caramel and maple. These started out as cookies, but when eventually baked and tasted, I decided to call them drops. M. said I should call them sweet breakfast scones, and I while do think they resemble scones a little,  I hate calling something like this such a traditional name. 

Imagine a soft but dense muffin top, dotted with caramel bits and laced with a slightly sweet maple flavor. How did the persimmon pulp come to be an ingredient in this? We had two uber-ripe persimmons in the fridge and needed to use them, so why not add some extra fiber and health into these "drops"? The persimmon flavor isn't too intense, with slight undertones of fruity sweetness. Head on over to Thyme in Our Kitchen and check out the round-up of recipes!

Maple Persimmon-Caramel Drops

Adapted from Eat, Live, Run's Persimmon Spice Cookies

2 small, ripe persimmons, peeled

1/4 cup butter or shortening

2 1/2 tablespoons maple sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 egg, beaten

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup caramel bits

1. Chop and puree the persimmons. Reserve. 
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, vanilla and maple sugar. Add the egg.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder and reserved persimmon pulp. Fold in caramel bits.
4. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350F degrees and grease a baking sheet. 
5. Cookie dough will still be very moist, so scoop 1 tablespoon portions onto baking sheet.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, until caramel starts to melt and drops appear golden brown. 
7. Serve with butter or jam, warm out of the oven. 

This were a delicious and healthy treat, perfect for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with fruit preserves. Want to learn more about maple syrup and sugar? Connect with Coombs Family Farms on Facebook and head on over to their website to learn more about the craft of sugaring.

Disclaimer: Coombs Family Farm kindly sent me maple products to recipe test with. No monetary compensation was exchanged and all opinions are 100% based on my personal testing.