German pancake- trying something new lebovitz style

      Have you ever had one of those situations where you were so confident in and yet ended terrible? I unfortunately have when I made the german pancake. It looked so impressive like the time I made souffle and yet I managed to burn the bottom of the cake... I was so desperate that I tried to scrape the bottom part that got burned... I think I have a problem

      I know what you're thinking now, "what the heck do you mean by Lebovitz style?". What I mean by that is the style of his blog. Instead of written recipe like me, David Lebovitz does a step by step picture style along with Joy the baker. So I decided to try it out! I didn't get enough pictures to do a step by step but I hope you will like it! 

      By the way I also tried to make a honey caramel sauce which worked out well. It added the complexity of a caramel and yet kept the sweetness of honey. The secret ingredient to this is kuromitsu which is a Japanese black honey and cayenne. The kuromitsu adds a hint of exotic but sweet flavor. The cayenne just increase the sweetness and opens up the pallet of flavors if you use it right.

      hope you like the result and enjoy!

serving for 4 
ingredients:
3 large room temperature eggs

2/3 cup room temperature milk

packed 1/2 cup flour (really pack the measuring cup firmly with flour)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp clarified butter

for the sauce:

1/4 cup of honey

2 tbsp of kuromitsu (if you don't have it then leave it out)

1 tsp of cayenne

1 tbsp of butter

                                                place the 3 eggs in the blender

                                                                     add the milk

                                                         add the flour, sugar, and vanilla

                                                                blend until combined

                         for the sauce: combine everything in a saucepan and cook it until your likings

                                                                    bake it for 20-25 min  at 425 F
                                                                 

Next up... Dutch baby/ german pancake

No post this week..........

      Wow... No one inboxed me..... at least comment or something please. I need something to cook... By the way I was going to make beef wellington but I couldn't find liver pate. It's not the easiest thing to find in coastal north carolina. so please inbox me below and who knows? maybe I'll show you what I look like... please send me email telling me to cook something here

post cancelled Sorry!!!

      unfortunately the pecan brittle demo was canceled due to a pecan hating father... My mother was out of town  so I could not get permission either. But hopefully next weekend I can do a savory post since there was haters sending me email calling me a pastry chef... So I want to prove I can do savory food...  maybe beef wellington but it's hard to finding liver pate around here so im not sure... drop me an email to gianluca1227jp@gmail.com  for a recipe request... see y'all later!

Coming up- pumpkin and pecan brittle

Baguette- great foodie fail of the year goes to......

      Me!!! bonjour y'all!!! I'm extremely bad at french so that's all I can say... because of the fact that I can't speak french, but I can make some good french food. That's a promise...  so I never though I can make a authentic french baguette and it turns out I can't... I don't have a hot enough oven to create the authentic crust. but this is a baguette and this is after all a good bread.

       Hold on I'm being told that you have to have at least 525 F oven for a baguette which is the temperature that I used. Because the oven I own only goes up to that temperature and my rack in the oven was obviously too low. So now i have a perfectly moist and delicious but not well browned crust Baguette. If I decided to act stupid in Paris, I will bring this to France. but overall it was a moist, tender, delicious bread. 

* Update, I have been told that you can make this bread in the traditional method just add a whole package of yeast and proceed as the kneading method

makes 4 small baguettes or 2 large baguettes 

• 4 cups of bread               flour *you can use AP             flour
• 1/4 tsp of dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 cups of water 
• 1 3/4 of tsp of salt

1- In a large bowl combine yeast and room temp water* make sure its room temp

2- add the salt 

3- add the flour and stir until combined

4- let it rise for 12-14 hours *no this is not a typo since this is a no knead bread you start out with small amount of yeast to develop the gluten

5- divide the dough into 4 pieces 

6- roll the pieces out into a baguette shape

7- take a pan of water into bottom rack of your oven and preheat to  525 F

8-  take a scissor and make cuts for the baguette signature look 

9-the pan with cornmeal i guess you can use foil, parchment or sil pat 

10- bake  it for 15 minute but every 5 minutes mist it with water. 

11- let it cool in a cooling rack or on a crinkled up foil 

12- enjoy!

New York style cheesecake- fogettaboutit

         This recipe came from a accident at the farmers market when I bought 2 lb of peaches and a wild blueberry since it was in season. But I already used the wild blueberries for the short bread demo. Sadly I had nothing to do with perfectly ripe peaches. I was going to do a peach cobbler on cast iron pan demo but i already did cobbler.

 so I decided it was a good idea to make a cheesecake and put peaches over the top to cover up my hideous crack the size of grand canyon on the cheesecake. it was my dumb urge to open the oven to check on the cheesecake. All you farmers who grow peaches, I'm sorry I really am. that's against the law in some areas... this goes to you Georgia!!!

       But the flavors are meant to be together. The acidity and the sweet peaches are amazing contrast against the rich and dense cheesecake is delicious. By the way I was serving these for a small party so this can stretch  easily from 6-8 people 

New-York style cheesecake serving for 6

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 18 graham crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese * i used Philadelphia
• 
  
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan
3. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom and about 1/2-inch up the sides of the springform pan
4. Whisk flour, sour cream, and vanilla extract in bowl. Set aside
5. Stir cream cheese and sugar with a wooden spoon in a large bowl until evenly incorporated, 3 to 5 minutes
6. Pour milk into cream cheese mixture and whisk until just combined.
7. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
8. add the sour cream mixture; whisk until just incorporated.
9. Pour mixture into prepared springform pan.
10. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges have nicely puffed and the surface of thecheesecake is firm except for a small spot in the center that will jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour.
11. When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. This prevents any cracks from forming on the top of the cheesecake. !
12. Enjoy

blueberry mini shortbread with creamcheese frosting- my first time teaching

 hey y'all today I made you a blueberry mini shortbread with cream cheese frosting. and today I'm featuring you my very own student Elise Cuadro. she is a nice person. And a very good cook. today i thought her how to make a cream cheese frosting, and how to use a piping bag she did a great job today. 
 
      I always thought teaching was easy, but it really is difficult, I'm not saying she's bad but she tried to lick off the frosting every time I looked away... 

serving- 4-6 people or 24 mini short bread
 slightly adapted this from food wishes 

1- 24 mini muffin pans *I used the one from pampered chef 

1 1/2 cups of AP-flour
1/2 cups of sugar
1/4 of tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 stick of butter frozen and cubed
1 large egg yolk 
1/2 tsp of COLD water
1 package of wild blueberry *please use wild blueberry,  regular ones are far too big and not enough flavor

1- 8oz stick of cream cheese
powdered sugar to taste
1 tsp of vanilla extractor 1/2 tsp  of pure Mexican vanilla
2 tbsp of butter

1- take a food processor and combine flour and sugar

2- add the baking powder and salt

3- add the frozen butter and pulse the food processors on and off until its very fine crumbs

4- add the egg yolk and keep pulsing it until the yolk in mixed in evenly

5- add the water to the mixture 

6- it should still be a fine crumb but if you squeeze the mixture together it will be solid

7- pack the dry ingredients into the bottom of each mini  muffin pans

8-place the blueberry on top of the crumbs 

9- place the rest of the crumbs for the blueberries 

10- bake at 350F for 20 minutes 

for the cream cheese frosting 

1- in a stand mixer cream the cream cheese until it will incorporated air to make it soft

2-  add 2 tbsp of butter and stir

3- add powdered sugar until tasted to liking

4- add the vanilla extract * I used pure Mexican vanilla,  not extract

5- stir at high speed until done

6- pipe out the cream cheese frosting on to the shortbread 



 

blackberry "hillbilly" cobbler

      ok so I need to catch up after making tzatziki, sorry for the late post I was at my great grandmother's house in Missouri. So if you were planning to tie me to a chair to make me post then... well I don't know.

      Enough about what I was doing. This blackberry hillbilly cobbler is no joke. its  absolutely delicious. By the way I didn't garnish with a nice scoop of ice cream so sorry about that that's crime against nature right there what's next laughing in public?

       but I will teach you a trick... when you bake these as shown then the batter should be above the berries. I flipped the cobbler up side down so I could get a better looking result. but the way the acidic berries work with the sweet crusty and buttery crust is nothing short of magical so I flipped the cobbler. one of my favorite chef john called these buckles so you may want to loosen your belt buckle a couple notches and try this delicious and easy fruit dessert a try soon enjoy!

Serving for 4-6 people (1 if your mother ate everything like my mom did as well)

2  cups fresh blackberries  *note, please use a farmer's market blackberries for this. I used a packaged one from commisary because I was impatient but it ended up being way too acidic.

2 tbsp white sugar if your berries are sweet, 3 if they need some help

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the batter:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup almond meal

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of cinnamon

1 cup milk

8 x 12 baking dish with 6 tbsp hot melted butter poured in.

1- prepare the blackberries place The blackberries into a small bowl add the sugar and the vanilla and stir until you don't see any more particles of sugar let sit for 15 min

2- pre-pare the baking dish melt 6 tbsp of butter and pour it into a  8 x 12 baking dish

3- make the batter swift all the dry ingredient together and stir until the baking powder is incorporated evenly *this is critical you must stir after it is swifter evenly

4- pour the batter into the buttered baking dish don't worry if it looks weird its perfectly normal, *pour it straight in the middle of the baking dish or else this will not work 


5- Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 1 hour

Enjoy!!

tzatziki- impossible to spell but delicious to eat

      tzatziki- gosh this is my all-time favorite condiment, if I had to choose between mayo and tzatziki for a sandwich i would choose this any day. french fries? NO that's jacked up i prefer seasoned ketchup with a little bit of balsamic vinegar yes i will show you that recipe when I think your ready. when i first heard of tzatziki i thought hmm this is a complex condiment. but there's a local Mediterranean restaurant called Santorini Grill and they serve this killer gyro with the tzatziki they are a new restaurant that opened . week ago in swansboro if you ever visit Swansboro, north Carolina then you should try. the taste is very simple, tangy with a flavor of dill and hint of mint 

Tzatziki- portions for 4

2 cups of greek yogurt the real stuff
3 Tbsp of herbs 2:1 ratio of dill and mint
1 large English cucumber grated
1 teaspoon of salt plus more to taste
4 cloves of garlic grated 
juice of half a lime 

1- in a small bowl take the cucumber and a grater and grate the cucumber add the salt and leave it for 15 minutes to draw out that water from the cucumber there's nothing worse then a watery Tzatziki. you know the deal with cucumbers alot of water that release when grated .

2- take a medium sized bowl take about 2 cups of Greek yogurt and please use the real stuff go to the nicest grocery store where you live in maybe whole foods is my favorite.

3- grate the garlic and add it to the yogurt stir it in with a spoon. 

4- roughly mince the dill and mint. if you don't like dill or mint use parsley or basil, but i highly recommend dill and mint

5-add in the cucumber and the lime juice and the roughly minced herbs.

6- stir it all together and your done.

7- get some pita bread and grilled lamb and enjoy!

*note I did not measure the yogurt so mine ended up too strong of flavor of dill so please measure the yogurt.

the beginning

    Hey what's up y"all my name is GianLuca Kasai i'm 13 years old, and I'm a proud chef of my own kitchen. now how many of your parents said "don't mess with the stove top!!". My parents never did I grew up cooking when I was 5 years old. My mother thought I would become a chef when I was born because I had a birthmark shaped like a chef's knife so i grew up cooking with my family. i will post my first recipe tomorrow I will TRY to post once a week. see y"all later...