Recipes for the coming holidays and beyond
Bake alongside celebrity chef and suburban resident Gale Gand as she leads an interactive virtual cooking demonstration Thursday at mccormick.com.
Gale Gand, a busy mother of three and awarding-winning pastry chef at Tru restaurant in Chicago, will feature the iconic holiday pairing of vanilla and red food color.
During the demo she'll share family-friendly holiday baking recipes and tips. She also will answer viewer questions during the live baking class.
If you can't tune into the live demo and are looking for more recipes to add to your holiday collection, like the Red Velvet Cheesecake pictured at the right, click the recipe link at the McCormick Web site.
Measure for measure: Some people in my family don't believe that some measuring cups are made for dry ingredients while others are made for liquid ingredients. But baking experts maintain there is a difference, however slight it might be, and to achieve optimum results you should use the proper equipment.
Over the years I've collected many dry measuring cup sets and just donated a bunch to AMVETS to make room for my new set from The Pampered Chef.
The handles on the six cups (⅓
, ⅔
and ¾
included in the set) snap together for easy storage and the amounts are printed in black on the clear plastic cups so you can read them without squinting. The design makes them easy to scoop into a canister of flour and there's a leveling stick that attaches to the set. They're also microwave safe.
All told, a pretty great deal for $15. Look for them at pamperedchef.com.
Meet the chef: If you've always wanted to meet the man who holds the Guinness record for the world's tallest chocolate Christmas tree - 22 feet of solid cocoa if you're counting - you can do so this weekend in Geneva.
Internationally acclaimed pastry chef and chocolate enthusiast Alain Roby will sign copies of his new cookbook "American Classics: Casual and Elegant Desserts" from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5 at Past Basket, 200 S. Third St., Geneva.
Roby, of Geneva, is corporate pastry chef for Hyatt Hotels and holds numerous awards and honors for his chocolate work and sugar artistry.
He also created the world's tallest chocolate sculpture, a model of the Empire State Building, for the Food Network in 2007.
In his first solo cookbook (he's contributed to others) he shares recipes for all sorts of desserts, like Key Lime Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust and Chocolate Mousse Truffle with Sea Salt and Olive Oil.
The book costs $22.95 and a portion of book proceeds will benefit Tiny Hearts Foundation, an organization that assists children affected by birth defects of the heart.
- Deborah Pankey
• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at food@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4524. Listen to her discuss food and restaurant trends on Restaurant Radio Chicago, 5 to 6 p.m. Saturdays on 560 AM WIND.