Penelope always loved to bake pies. Even as a Penelopette she shunned the Easy Bake oven and went right for the big kids' kitchen…
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Nancy G. from Lincroft, New Jersey told Penelope that for the perfect quiche every time she’ll blind bake the crust for four minutes at 350° and then, just like with the seating arrangements for her in-laws at the table, she puts the heaviest ingredients at the bottom to give the mix a chance to work. So for a ham and cheese quiche, the ham goes in first, then the cheese, then the egg mixture. And voila, hope floats!
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
If you haven’t been to the new MoMA in New York or BCAM in Los Angeles, you can still experience post-modern deconstruction with a jar of apricot jam.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of apricot jam to a boil, stirring continually. Place a strainer over a bowl and, using the back of a spoon or spatula, press the boiled jam through it. Then discard the pulp and return the strained apricot jam to the saucepan. Reheat the strained jam to a boil before brushing it on a tart or a canvas or (for performance artists only) on a person.
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Cream of Tartar, a by-product of wine fermentation, stabilizes egg whites and, more important, prevents them from deflating, which is why using a quality cream of tartar in lemon meringue pie is so important. It’s also why LMP is a smart choice as a bedtime snack if you’re dating an old guy with a heart problem who can’t take Viagra.
Vanilla extract can be made from scratch by splitting 4 or 5 vanilla beans and placing them in a Mason jar with 2 cups of brandy or bourbon. Store the jar in a dark place, although not the one you go to when you haven’t heard back from someone you’ve been dating in a reasonable amount of time. Let it stand for at least 2 weeks.
Friday, June 6th, 2008
The same way a new pair of jeans shrinks the first time you wash it, tart dough also gets smaller as it bakes. So just like you might buy your jeans a little bigger to adjust for size, press your tart dough up the sides of the tart shell, making it thicker at the top edge, then press it a little bit higher than the rim. That way when it shrinks, it should fit perfectly.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
Ultrapasteurized cream doesn’t whip up to the same amazingly fabulous heights as regular pasteurized cream, so going for the extra money isn’t necessary. And if you overpay for the cream, you might be the type to over-whip it, too. If that happens and the peaks get too stiff, just fold in a few tablespoons of cream, one at a time, and it will lighten up. Same goes for you.
Friday, May 9th, 2008
This may seem like restating the obvious, but if you’re using the same lemon (or orange or lime) for zest as for juice, and why wouldn’t you since money doesn’t grow on trees, make sure to get the zest first, and then juice the fruit. A flat fruit is no longer interested in being zesty.
