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This video was made by Mark Shimahara and Eugene Ahn.  They went all over L.A. on Saturday to capture the spirit of this mega fundraiser.  Thank you!

still counting...

BAKESALE FOR JAPAN

Samin is still counting...but for now, the number is $120,254.38.

HOLY COW!!!

A million Thank You's to everyone who made this possible!

Los Angeles Bakesale for Japan April 2 10am-2pm

I am currently working with Samin Nosrat and all of her Bay Area supporters on raising money through an old fashioned Bakesale for Japan.  They are setting up shop all over the Bay Area.  I am currently looking for a place to host the event.  Please forward this page to any Restaurants/Cafes/Bakeries that might be interested.  Here is a list of Supporters so far (some locations are TBD):

Where:
Oakland--Pizzaiolo (5008 Telegraph Ave.)
Berkeley--Gioia Pizzeria (1586 Hopkins St.)

San Francisco (Mission)--Bi-Rite Market (3639 18th St.)

San Francisco (Fillmore)--SPQR (1911 Fillmore St.; also closing for lunch on 4/2 to offer special panini with all proceeds going toward Japan relief)

San Jose--Roy's Station (197 Jackson St.)

Marin--coming soon

Napa/Sonoma--Oxbow Public Market (644 1st St., #D; email NapaBakesale@gmail.com)

Santa Cruz--Lulu's at the Octagon (at the Museum of Art and History--118 Cooper St.; email SantaCruzBakesale@gmail.com)

Los Angeles--Black Cat Bakery (519 S. Fairfax Ave.; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Los Angeles--Forage (3823 West Sunset Blvd.; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Los Angeles--Angeli Caffe (7274 Melrose Ave.; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Los Angeles--BLD (7450 Beverly Blvd.; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Los Angeles--Brentwood Country Mart (225 26th St., Brentwood; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Culver City--Akasha (9543 Culver Blvd.; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Pasadena--Chefs Center of California(45 N. San Gabriel Blvd., Pasadena; email LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com)

Portland, OR--Ristretto Roasters (3808 N. Williams Ave.; email PDXbakesale@gmail.com)

Portland, OR--Barista (Pearl Location at 539 NW 13th Ave.; email PDXbakesale@gmail.com)

Boston, MA--Ula Cafe (284 Amory St.; more info here; email BosBakesale@gmail.com)

Philadelphia, PA--South Street Philly Bagel (613 S. 3rd St.)

Seattle, WA--CakeSpy Shop (415 E. Pine St.)

NYC--coming soon (email NYCbakesale@gmail.com)

Austin, TX--AustinBakes

Salt Lake City, UT--coming soon

Maui, HI--coming soon

Sacramento, CA--coming soon

Ashville, NC--Bake It Pretty (58 Wall St.; also donating a % of online sales from 4/2)

Sister bakesales: Akron Vegan Bakesale for Japan (Akron, OH) 

                                         Toronto Bakes for Japan (Toronto, ON) 

Last year they raised $23,000 at their Bakesale for Haiti and we'd like your help to raise more.  With your help, we can break their bakesale record!

Here's what I know so far:

• It will be on Saturday, 4/2 from 10am-2pm
• You DO NOT have to be a professional cook/baker to participate!
• We currently have 15 locations and counting with more TBA around the Nation. 
• Please label all donated food items with your Brand Identity and product name.
• Please email me at LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com with a list of all items donated, ingredients used, and quantity of items being donated.
• Individually wrapped treats, when possible, as well as half-dozens, dozens, whole cakes/pies/tarts/loaves etc. are preferred (rather than a basket of unwrapped cookies meant to be sold one by one)
• Bake as much as you like!  The more stuff we have to sell, the better!  We literally cannot have too many baked goods.
• Gluten-free/ dairy-free/ vegan/ nut items are welcome and should be clearly labeled as such.
• All items must be delivered with a complete list of ingredients, as well as an item name.  
• Please plan to deliver your goods in containers you will not need returned.  
• If you'd like to donate a non-food item, such as artwork, a gift certificate, etc, please email me with specifics 
• I will also need quite a few volunteers to help organize, collect, and distribute baked goods, as well as work the sales, so if you're not into baking, let me know if you want to help in this way.
• Japanese specialties such as mochi and other delicacies are more than welcome.  
• We sell everything by suggested donation, so the more delicious/special the items, and the nicer the packaging/presentation, the more money we can get! Please keep this in mind (i.e. no cake mixes and regular old rice krispie treats, please).  
• We will be folding 1,000 paper cranes at the bakesale locations.  If you can donate origami paper or teach others to fold cranes, please let me know.  

Please keep an eye on Samin's twitter (@ciaosamin) and mine (@bre_varela) and blog (ciao samin) for periodic updates.

Tell all of your friends!  We cannot have too many volunteer bakers, and we certainly cannot have too many patrons!!!

If you cannot bake, please support us by spreading the word via twitter, FB, your school listserv, etc.  And of course, do come buy some sweets on Saturday, April 2nd!

  

Thank you!

Please email me at LosAngelesBakesale@gmail.com if you are interested in helping in anyway.

link to listen...

for anyone who wants to listen to my first radio interview on sirius tomorrow at 9:15am PT (11:15amET), here is the link "everyday food"

enjoy!
breanne

martha stewart radio....

please tune in this friday, march 11 at 11am ET to "everyday food" on the martha stewart radio station on sirius.  i will be doing my first radio interview...wish me luck!  i am so nervous.  i really hope i don't botch the whole thing.  we will be talking about how to make biscuits and scones a little more healthy.   those who know me, know i am not the "healthy chef" that food and wine mag makes me out to be.  i'm sure i could bake instead of fry, use whole wheat instead of all purpose flour, but why do that when the unhealthy way tastes so damn good!

a soolip wedding 2011...

today, i went to a soolip wedding to support four amazing women.  sarah tivel and robin baab of gather events and occasions and stephanie bone and elizabeth griffiths of whoa nelly! catering had the most beautiful booth, filled with gorgeous flowers and tasty bites.  they definitely stole the show at the event today with their unique style.  whoa nelly! catering had yummy little ricotta tartlettes with asparagus and meyer lemon, hook's cheddar cheese straws (i love hook's cheddar), and gougere sandwiches with proscuitto and gruyere.  even though i am completely bias and think all of these ladies are totally brilliant, they really did have the most stunning table.  check out their sites and see for yourselves.

chocolate chip cookies...

after 2 years of people asking for the recipe, i am finally posting it.  i really wasn't trying to keep it a secret, i just kept forgetting to do it.  almost every guest at the larder at tavern orders a chocolate chip cookie...chewy or crispy...they are our top seller.  i think the secret to our cookies isn't the recipe, its the amazing chocolate we get and the amount of chocolate we pack into each cookie.  we use 65% chocolate coins from cordillera.  they are an amazing company that produces 100% colombian chocolates.  they were gracious enough to send me there last year to learn more about their company and their products.  i will post more about my trip there next time.  so now, on to the chocolatiest chocolate chip cookies...

chocolate chip cookies:

8oz          butter, room temperature
1 1/4c      dark brown sugar
3/4c         granulated sugar
2each       eggs

1 1/2tsp   vanilla extract
3c            pastry flour
1tsp         baking soda
2tsp         kosher salt
24oz       65% cordillera chocolate coins (or whatever your favorite chocolate is.  make sure to chop it into large quarter-size chunks)

method:
in a kitchen aid bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until all combined.  do not beat until pale or your cookies will be too flat.
add the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
stop the mixer and scrap the sides of the bowl.
add the vanilla extract and mix for 10 seconds.
sift the pastry flour, baking soda and salt and slowly add it to the mixer with the mixer on the lowest setting.
when you see that almost all the flour has been incorporated, add the chocolate and mix just until combined.

we use an ice cream scoop at the restaurant to ensure consistency in size.  choose your weapon and form the dough into balls the size of golf balls.

for chewy cookies:
chill the dough for 2 hours
place the balls of cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet 3" apart and bake at 350F for 10 minutes.
rotate.
and bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
cool completely or just dig in!

for crispy cookies:
no need to chill the dough.
with very clean fingers, flatten each ball of dough as thin as possible.  it should be the size of a cd.
bake the cookies at 350F for 12 minutes.
rotate.
bake for another 12-15 minutes or until the entire cookie is delicious caramel color.
again, cool completely or eat 'em while their hot!

extra notes:
sub the chocolate chips for dried fruits and/or nuts, peanut butter chips...whatever you like.

food and wine...

© Alex Farnum/Con Poulos

i'm so excited!  the march issue of food and wine has 5 of my recipes from tavern.  every month, they have a section called "chef's recipes made easy" and thats where you will find some tavern treats.  ironically, i'm in the "healthy" issue.  when they requested the recipe for the sweet potato donuts with bacon caramel i initially thought they were joking.  But it turns out if you leave out the fatty (but extremely yummy) bacon caramel sauce and you opt to bake them instead of frying they aren't so bad for you after all.  buy a copy or just check it out on the web (link provided above).  enjoy!

valentine's day treat in the huffington post...

this one is an oldie but goodie.  here is the link to the recipe wildflower honey panna cotta with blood orange granita in the Huffington Post

punjabi rice pudding and c magazine...

check out this month's issue of "California style" magazine and try out my punjabi rice pudding!

a few months ago i had a major craving for indian rice pudding (remember in my last post i was working on it). i went to a few indian shops to satisfy my sweet tooth but nothing lived up to my memory of the indian rice pudding i had growing up. i know that sounds strange because as some of you know, i am not indian. every summer for as long as i could remember, i would go up north to san jose and stay with my cousins. as soon as i got there they would ask me where i wanted to go and what i wanted to do that summer. my top pick every summer was this little indian restaurant where they had the best rice pudding. it was sort of soupy, not thick like the american version, and scented with jaggery and cardamom and made with fragrant basmati rice. i absolutely HAD to have the rice pudding i remembered and so i decided to try to make it myself. (i was also on a major middle eastern and indian food kick during that time.) i consulted my good friend and trusted resource to all things indian aarti(check out her blog!)

her recipe had some ingredients that i didn't have available or didn't like too much (like rose water) so i added, subtracted and tweaked it to fit my memory of the rice pudding i had in my childhood years in san jose. the one thing that was a completely new addition was topping it with a dessert masala (this idea came from her recipe). p.s. i love the word masala! it means a paste or dry mixture of spices and other ingredients like ginger. the dessert masala for the rice pudding has pistachios, cashews, tangelo zest, cardamom and other fun surprises in it. a little bit really goes a long way with this stuff, but it adds so much depth of flavor. so, please try it out and let me know what you think.

one last thing....

check out my friend aarti sequeira on "the next food network star" on the food network! you can also show her some love by watching her online cooking show "quick bites" on youtube.

you can also check out my cousin's blog "my foggy brain" as she chronicles her daily highs and lows living with fibromyalgia.

things i'm working on...

this is just a teaser. a quick glimpse of what i've been working on the past few weeks. enjoy!

my version of a shaker lemon pie

meyer lemon done a la shaker with a caramelized puff pastry top.

pistachio and chocolate coupe

layers of pistachio ice cream, chocolate ice cream, olive oil sorbet, mascarpone and magical goodness.

black sesame cookies

they look kind of crazy but they taste amazing!

indian rice pudding with sweet masala

basmati rice pudding with crushed cardamom and tangelo zest topped with masala

(pistachios, cashews, pistachio oil and piloncillo syrup)

the beginnings of my spring garden cake

carrots, gourds, cabbage, spring onions, potatoes, cauliflower and strawberries...the turnips didn't make the picture.

waiting for the results...

sarah and yvonne assembling cupcakes

1400 cupcakes have been filled, frosted and eaten. just waiting for the results of the cupcake challenge. the awards are for "best overall," "best original," and "best traditional." we submitted tahitian vanilla bean for "best traditional" and chocolate and salted caramel for "best original." you can view more pics on here or on my flickr page.

chocolate and salted caramel cupcakes

we had so much fun at the cupcake challenge! everyone was incredibly nice and it was great to see and taste all the mini cupcakes. the contestants went all out decorating their tables. some had giant custom cupcake towers, videos, and raffles. my favorite display was blue cupcake. it was absolutely adorable. our table was full of mini cupcakes resting on ruffled glass and white ceramic cake stands, stacks of my favorite pastry cookbooks and of course, suzanne's "sunday suppers" was tucked in there too. we made some larger versions of the cupcakes for display which proved to be a real hit with all the little kids that attended. who wants a mini cupcake when you can have a large one piled high with frosting and a cute little macaron hat?

...also nestled on our table

before we started packing up, after the competition was over yvonne, sarah and i celebrated with a little champagne. then we went to palate for an amazing dinner. octavio, jason and francois filled our bellies with foie gras, house-made pasta and more bubbly and vino. it was the perfect way to end our 14 hour day.

thank you so much for everyone who came to support us and cheered us on via twitter, facebook and text messages!

1400 cupcakes....

just a quick update: the cupcake batters are made, the frostings are being made and i'm just starting to bake off 1400 mini cupcakes! no typos here. sorry there are no pictures, its hard to take pictures with frosting on your fingers.

valentine's is just around the corner...

valentine's day treats

before i get started on those cupcake challenge testers, i have some sweet treats for your valentine's day. i finally gave in and made red velvet cupcakes. i topped off my "queen of hearts" cupcakes with traditional cream cheese frosting and red heart sprinkles. the pinkies are tahitian vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting and aptly named "sweethearts." do you have a broken heart this valentine's? i have the perfect cookie! french butter cookies with vanilla frosting. the have been quite popular in the larder.

its sort of ironic, i recently stopped making cupcakes. then, about a month ago, i was asked to take part in a cupcake challenge. this week, i was asked to do a show based on cupcakes. it seems as though i will NEVER stop making cupcakes. i don't have anything against them. i just figured there were enough people doing cupcakes that i didn't need to make them. i have learned that there are never enough people making cupcakes.

cupcake fever!

carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

in a few weeks i will be competing in the nestle cupcake challenge. this will be my first competition....ever. i am full of self doubt and nervous energy...trying to make it go away. for the big day, i will be making a vanilla cupcake (in the "traditional" category) and salted caramel and chocolate ("non-traditional"). wish me luck and come out and support if you get a chance! i will keep you updated on the testing process. i also might submit my application for food network's "cupcake wars"....shhhh....

snowmen, snowflakes and luster dust...

i'm sorry it took me so long to write. the holidays were a bit insane at the restaurant! thankfully they are over and i can begin to get my life in order. here are some pics of what i did this holiday season. enjoy! my ghost cupcakes became snowmen, complete with marzipan carrot noses. my lemon meringue cupcakes grew up into a full cake with lemon tuiles. i made tons of holiday cookies: maple walnut snowflakes (pictured), almond snowballs, gingerbread men, pumpkin and pepita thumbprints (with sara's home-made pumpkin butter), cranberry pistachio sables, and thin mints "a la girl scouts." i became obsessed with peppermint and made peppermint meringue kisses (pictured) and little candy cane bites. check out this video to see more candy making. every time i watch a video from papabubble, i immediately want to make candy. lastly, i made dozens of mini marzipan pumpkins to go on top of our pumpkin and brown butter cupcakes...any excuse to use luster dust. note-the macarons on the top of the page, lots of luster dust are used in the making of those macarons.

halloween creations...

remember these cutie pies! ghostly black and white cupcakes (chocolate with marshmallow). they got slimed (with green tinted fondant) for the big day! i already have ideas for next halloween. if you look really close, you can see the witch in the background. here are more pics of my halloween creations...

the bakeshop wouldn't be complete without a witch, rolling pin and an ipod.

spiraling orchard's "eat-in"

all across the country, on september 7th, communities joined together to hold an "eat-in." the message was simple...show congress that it is time for change. its time for children to start eating "real" food, no more over-proccessed reheated frozen foods. i was lucky enough to take part in one held at spiraling orchard in los angeles.

sometimes life gets pretty hectic and we forget to give back to our communties. i'm glad someone (cara speckhals) woke me up and offered me a chance to be a part of this. being that i go the farmer's market every week, i was responsible for hunting and gathering all the donations. cara graciously organized all of the prepping and cooking of the meal, all while holding down a full time job and some very intense personal obligations. nancy zuniga and lisa nunez are the two amazing women who brought the whole thing together. without their dedication to the community, kids and spiraling orchard this would not have been possible. in the days leading up to the event, my team over at tavern (cara, stephanie and ty) all helped prep boxes and boxes of fruits and veggies for the big day. once all of our crisps and crumbles were assembled, we had a whole room full of them.

cara and all the crisps

all the donations from the santa monica farmer's market

thank you to all the farmers who helped make this possible:

penryn orchards

bettina birch

flora bella farms

fair hills apple farm

peter schaner

peacock family farm

see canyon

windrose

coleman

tenerelli

honeycrisp

*for more photos of the event please visit:spiraling orchard's "eat-in"

farmers market tart...two ways...

the market is ripe with warm summer fruits and vegetables. you come home and unpack your bag of goodies. if your like me, you've purchased way more than you could possibly consume. how could you turn down vibrantly colored heirloom tomatoes and basil that scents the market air? and those pluots...that reveal there intense pink blush. its hard to limit yourself when your surrounded by the seasons harvest. here is what i have come up with to use up your favorite market goodies...a savory and a sweet tart.

this dough really lends itself to both versions very well. don't be afraid to put your own spin on these. if you find nectarines that are better, use that....don't like zucchini, use eggplant. this recipe may seem long, but it is well worth it in the end.

tomato and zucchini tart:

1 recipe tart dough

1/2 cup fromage blanc

4-5 medium tomatoes

2 large zucchini

2 medium onions

as needed olive oil

salt, pepper, and a lota love.

tart dough:

10oz all purpose flour

3Tbsp granulated sugar

1.5t kosher salt

7oz unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes and frozen

1/2c skim milk, with 1/4c ice cubes in it

method:

put the flour, sugar, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse till the butter is the size of a pea.

stream in the ice cold milk, careful not to add the ice.

pulse just until the dough comes together (you might need more or less milk).

turn the dough out onto the counter and shape into a flat 7" circle.

wrap tightly in plastic and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

fromage blanc:

1c ricotta

1 egg

1 yolks

1Tblsp olive oil

1/2tsp salt

1/8tsp ground black pepper

1/4c creme fraiche

1/4tsp picked thyme leaves

1tsp sliced arbol chiles, no seeds

2tblsp basil, chiffonade (sliced)

method:

in the bowl of a food processor, add the ricotta, egg and yolks, salt, pepper and olive oil.

pulse until super smooth.

transfer the mixture into another bowl and add the creme fraiche, thyme, arbol and basil.

stir everything together.

(this can be made the day before. add the basil the day that your going to use it)

tomatoes and zucchini:

4-5each heirloom tomatoes, tennis ball size

2 large zucchini

2 medium onions

as needed olive oil

method:

peel and slice the onions 1/4" thick

heat a medium saute pan, add 2 tblsp olive oil and then add the onions.

season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat until the onions are caramelized, stirring frequently.

*i usually add a knob of butter at the end.

transfer to a plate and let cool completely before assembling tart.

slice the tomatoes 1/4" thick.

generously sprinkle salt and pepper over them and lay them out on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

put in a 250F oven just until they start to shrink a little. do not let them get color! about 20 minutes

*this helps get the excess water out of the tomatoes so that your tart won't be soggy.

let them cool before assembling tart.

drizzle 2 tblsp olive oil over the tomatoes.

while the tomatoes are in the oven, slice the zucchini 1/4" thick (use a mandeline if available).

put them in a bowl, generously sprinkle salt and pepper over them and toss. use your hands for this, rub each zucchini so that each piece is seasoned.

let the zucchini sit for 20 minutes.

strain off the excess water and toss with 2 tblsp olive oil.

assembling the savory tart:

method:

roll the tart dough, on a lightly floured board, into a 14" circle in diameter and 1/4" thick.

place 1/2c of the fromage blanc in the center and spread into a 9" circle in diameter.

place 1/2c caramelized onions on top, use your fingers to spread them out over the fromage blanc.

layer, alternately, the tomatoes and zucchini in concentric circles. work from the outside towards the center.

fold the dough towards the center of the tart in 6-7 folds.

freeze for 30 minutes-overnight.

make an egg wash (one egg, whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) and brush the crust.

bake at 425F (for best results, bake on a pizza stone) till the crust is a deep golden brown. about 45-60 minutes.

take out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes and then slice into it. it cuts nicer when you let it cool down a bit.

sweet tart:

1 recipe tart dough

2lbs elephant heart pluots

1tblsp cornstarch

1tblsp granulated sugar

1 cup brown butter filling

brown butter filling:

8oz unsalted butter

3ea eggs

1/2c granulated sugar

1/2c dark brown sugar

1/2t salt

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1/2c all purpose flour

method:

put the butter in a 1 quart sauce pot and turn the heat on medium.

continue to cook until the milk solids in the butter turn a deep brown color and it smells nutty.

*careful not to burn.

cool it slightly. it should be warm to the touch but not burning hot.

once cooled, whisk the sugars, eggs, salt and vanilla extract in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer on medium-high till pale yellow in color. about 3 minutes.

add the flour and whisk on low till incorporated.

very slowly, drizzle the warm browned butter into the mixer bowl while its on medium speed until all the butter (and the browned bits) are well incorporated.

assembling the sweet tart:

follow the savory tart instructions for rolling the dough out.

spread 1 cup of the brown butter filling in the center of the dough, in a 9" circle, leaving a 2" border of dough.

toss the pluots with sugar and cornstarch and pile on top of the filling.

fold the dough over the pluots in 6-7 folds.

freeze for 30 minutes-overnight.

make an egg wash (one egg, whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) and brush the crust and sprinkle sugar over the top of the crust.

bake at 425F (for best results, bake on a pizza stone) till the crust is a deep golden brown. about 45-60 minutes.

take out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes and then slice into it. it cuts nicer when you let it cool down a bit.

rummy banana bread...

i know what your thinking, "banana bread...really?" But i promise, it is the tastiest banana bread ever! this one has a really great crust and yummy rum...sort of banana fosters...flavor to it. when ever i'm thinking..."somethings missing..." usually adding a little alcohol and/or nuts makes it better. they both will create a richer depth of flavor and texture. here is my recipe:

rummy banana bread:

330g granulated sugar

110g dark brown sugar

22g honey (i like orange blossom)

230g butter, room temperature

227g eggs (about 4)

6g kosher salt

11g baking soda

1/8t ground nutmeg

430g all purpose flour

400g ripe banana (peel them and keep whole. its about 4 bananas)

22g dark rum

130g toasted, chopped pecans (plus a litte more for garnish)

method:

preheat oven to 350F

put both sugars, honey and butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream on medium speed until light and fluffy. about 3 minutes.

while that is creaming, sift the salt, baking soda, nutmeg and flour and set aside.

add the eggs, one at a time, with the mixer on medium speed till they are all well incorporated.

scrape the mixture down off the sides of the bowl and add the sifted dry ingredients.

mix on low speed until half way mixed together.

add the whole bananas, rum and pecans to the mixer.

mix on low speed till everything is well incorporated. be careful not to over mix. you don't want a tough banana bread.

butter a standard size loaf pan and pour the batter in. it should be filled half way.

top with a healthy amount of chopped pecans.

put on a cookie sheet and put in the oven.

bake until deep golden brown and when inserted with a toothpick, in the center, comes out clean.

you can try to let it cool before slicing....i never can resist and dig right in when its still pipping hot from the oven.

serve with a tall glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee. enjoy!