Pumpkin Cookies, adapted from the Miele Website

Pumpkin Cookies

Serve these distinctive pumpkin treats in the fall or any time you crave a homespun dessert.

Cooking Time: 15 Minutes Preparation Time: 35 Minutes Meal Type: ·  Dessert Food Type: ·  Cookies Miele Products: ·  Ovens, Novotronic & MasterChef Ingredients for Pumpkin Cookies ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1½ cups sugar 1 large egg 2 teaspoons vanilla 2½ cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground clove ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup solid pack pumpkin Ingredients for Icing 2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon melted butter 3 tablespoons milk

Directions 1.       Preheat oven on Convection Bake to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add egg and vanilla; then beat until fluffy. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and salt in a medium bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with pumpkin, beating after each addition. 2.       Drop batter by rounded tablespoons on lightly greased Miele PerfectClean baking trays or other baking sheets. Then smooth the tops. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly on racks. 3.       For glaze, mix powdered sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and milk together until smooth. Add milk by drops if necessary until glaze can be drizzled easily over cookies. Drizzle glaze over tops.

Additional Information:

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Home Made Marshmallows

Marshmallows

Adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown

I love making these, it is really fun and easy- try it! Chef Rachelle

Yields approximately 24 marshmallows

Ingredients

3 packages unflavored gelatin

1 cup ice cold water, divided

12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I use a vanilla bean paste by Nielsen- Massey)

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Nonstick spray and parchment paper

 

Directions

1. Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment attached along with 1/2 cup of the water.

2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240° F, approximately 10 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

3. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pan as follows.

4. Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper cut slightly larger than the bottom of the pan and spray with non stick cooking spray, including the sides of the pan. Sprinkle some of the sugar and cornstarch mixture onto the pan and move to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan, return the extra mixture to the bowl.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Let cool for a bit to solidify. Once it is slightly set, lift the edge of the paper on the short side of the pan and fold marshmallow sheet over itself in half to make it twice as thick. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

6. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board dusted with the cornstarch mixture and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel or serrated knife dusted with the mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For miniature marshmallows:

1. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.

2. Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.

3. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

How did ya’ like them apples?

Happy (almost) Halloween! I have been in the “spirit” all month. I’ve been testing seasonal recipes for my new cooking segments with Standards of Excellence and Miele appliances on Green 960AM radio. It airs Saturday mornings, between 9 am and noon. Be sure and tune in and better yet, come and “Meet and Eat” with me, Saturday November 13th from 9:00am-12:30pm. We’re having a listening party at Standards of Excellence on San Rafael located at 530 West Francsico Boulevard as I cook a sensational, seasonal brunch on our Miele appliances. Read more about the event on my Facebook.

Meet & Eat, November 13

This week’s radio segment focuses on sustainable decorating (pictures to follow) and a simple, fresh approach to a fall favorite, caramel apples. How about Mini Caramel Apples?! These are so much easier…

Scoop mini apples

Start with a clean, dry, firm flesh (not mealy) apples, (tart styles are best) and chill them. Scoop “mini-apples” using a melon ball scoop, skewer with a short wooden skewer or lollipop stick through the skin side. If you can find tiny Lady Apples, use them whole. Place on paper towels and chill again.
Over medium heat, melt a 14 ounce bag of caramels with 2 tablespoons of water, stirring. I used Miele induction, this provides perfect control of the temperature. Cool slightly, dry apples well, and dip and swirl, leaving some of the skin showing at the top.

Dip and Swirl

Dip into chipped nuts, coconut, jimmies, sprinkles, granola, whatever you want and get creative. Place them in paper candy cups or mini cupcake liners on a tray and chill right away to set caramel.
As an alternative, try using melted chocolate, white chocolate or any flavored melting chips. The higher quality chips have more fat, making them better for melting. Melt according to the package directions and dip apples in the same manner as above.





This is kid friendly and a fun activity for all. I would love to hear from you…let me know how yours turn out. Or, better yet, post a picture of your creations at www.facebook.com/chefrachelleboucher

Here are the table scape pictures I promised from my seasonal decorating tips. I covered this in my October 14th post, with a video (nice!)
 

Come and make these with me in person. I’ll be at Macy’s Union Square Cellar Saturday October 30th from 2-3:30. We’ll make Caramel and Chocolate Mini Apples, Oozing S’mores and Tarantula Truffles, attendance costs just $15 and proceeds benefit Homeward Bound of Marin’s homeless and job training program.

What the “Fridge” is Going On? The winner of the Sears Chef Challenge!

Oh, what a night! The Sears Chef Challenge was an incredible battle down to the last moment. Months of cooking demonstrations, videos and on line voting came down to a battle of four fabulous chefs from across the country last Thursday night. The event was at the Kenmore Live Studio in downtown Chicago and it was rocking from the start. Luscious seasonal beverages flowed and hors d’ oeuvres appeared from every direction. Here are some blood orange cocktails and Smoked Salmon on Potato Crisps. It all looked incredible, but I was so busy, I missed most of the goodies, I had a job to do!

Speaking of jobs, here are some of the visionary leaders that helped make this all happen, Sears CEO Bruce Johnson and his wife with Shawn Pauli, Vice President Appliances, pictured here getting ready to watch our chefs in action. They were so excited to support the chefs and their charities.


My culinary partner and event co-host, Chef Billy Parisi, is pictured here with Chef Alex Dino, Chef Lovely, guest host Michelle Allegria, Chef John Murphy and Chef Tiffany Friedman. Billy briefed the group on the camera angles and timeline. Look at the focus, they were nervous!  I was upstairs as the “eye in the sky” hosting the VIP Tweet Up Group and adding commentary on the action below.


The chefs battled it out in a “Quick Bite Challenge” called the “Prep Rally” by dicing onions, peeling/chopping potatoes and cutting red pepper, Chef Alex won by a hair over Chef Tiffany. The chefs then took on the main challenge with 30 minutes to finish their original dish with all 4 mystery ingredients from the previous day’s prep session: Brussels sprouts, fresh nutmeg, acorn squash and Granny Smith apples. Chef Alex soldered on with immunity as the other chefs had to stop cooking and do crazy things such as carve a face into a pumpkin! They did great, Lovely had a tender, comforting Stuffed Chicken Breast with an Acorn Squash Puree and Brussels Sprouts. Tiffany cooked a perfectly seared Lamb Chop with Fingerling Potatoes, Acorn Squash, Brussels Sprouts and Apples. John had a Nutmeg Brined Pork Chop with Acorn Squash, Brussels sprouts and Apples and Alex created a Nutmeg and Panko Crusted Halibut with a Tamarind Orange Scented Broth alongside a Ragout of Acorn Squash, apple and Brussels sprouts drizzled with a BACON CANDLE! Yes, you heard me. He rendred bacon fat, put a wick in it, froze it and then lit it on his final plate. The bacon fat melted into a small pool of flavor which he drizzled onto the ragout!


Judges tasted, deliberated and announced the winner, Chef Alex Dino! His innovative, world cuisine inspired dish won the judges hearts. Chef John Murphy was just a half a point behind Alex! It was an incredible evening!

Here is the Sears Chef Challenge round two winner Chef Alex Dino posing outside with the gorgeous custom, spray painted refrigerator being done on site by a top Chicago artist. All the chefs wanted to take it home!


As our winner, Alex goes home with a full $10,000 dollars for his charity, the Food Bank of New York, a full suite of Kenmore appliances and the chance to return in just two weeks for the Sears Chef Challenge FINALS on Thursday, November 4th at 8 pm central. Join us at www.searschefchallenge.com to watch us live!

Chef Alex Dino of New York v.s. Chef Mark Maassen of Chicago, who will take the Grand Champion title and a full $20,000 for their charity and a FULL top to bottom kitchen make over?

Here is the whole beautiful group (they are all BFFs) at the night’s end. Congratulations to all of you! 

Chicago or Bust, a Culinary Adventure for Chefs from Around the Country!

They did it! Congratulations to the four Sears Chef Challenge Round Two Winners!
Four fabulous chefs, Alex Dino (N.YC.), Tiffany Friedman (S.F.), Lovely Jackson (Chicago) and John Murphy (D.C.) all made it to the semi-finals and are all set to face of in our Iron Chef-stlyle cook off Thursday evening to see who will win a chance to compete against round one winner Chef Mark Maassen of Chicago on November 4th for the title of Sears Chef Challenge Grand Champion! Each chef won $5,000 for their chosen charity and an appliance of their choice. Thursday’s winner wins ANOTHER $5,000 for their charity and another appliance. The Grand Champion wins another $10,000 for charity and a full kitchen makeover. Stakes are high, knives are sharpened…

Loading in the car on the way to Whole Foods

Sears’ Chef, Billy Parisi and I worked all day with the dynamic SCC team to meet, greet, trick and treat our chef-testants. Chefs met this morning for the first time at the Felix Hotel and got a hint at the upcoming challenges. We then whisked them away to Whole Foods Market.

This is a very, very diverse and raucous group. Alex is calm and cool, a very seasoned, disciplined chef and new cook book author modern-tofu.com; Tiffany is a top tier private chef to the stars with years of restaurant experience, full of humorous energy; Lovely is a culinary media master, charming the camera at every chance and a top culinary educator tweeting as she goes, and our youngest chef John is a soulful newlywed with a passion and talent beyond his years who works as a chef at a brilliant non-profit feeding REAL food to the homeless. What an incredible array of talent and experience, but who will prevail? Check out their videos at www.searschefchallenge.com.

the challenge is revealed

At Whole Foods Market, we revealed their challenge. Each chef uncovered a hidden mystery ingredient, which they all had to incorporate into their final dishes. They chose brussels sprouts, nutmeg, acorn squash and granny smith apples. How would you incorporate those into one dish?
Shopping was just 30 minutes; here is Alex, always chill, checking out.

Chef Alex, always chill

Tiff, was over by $20 and was bargaining with John to buy her butter, hysterical! Lovely was at $98.89, and the budget was $100, wow!
We all jammed into the elevator with the camera crew to the upstairs cooking school for one hour of prep.

We all jammed into the elevator with the camera crew

Me, I had dish duty, which is fine with me.


What a scene!



Here are the chefs loading their coolers into the car for transport to the Kenmore Live Studio for the battle.

Chefs loading their coolers to transport them to Kenmore Live Studio

BE SURE AND WATCH LIVE STREAM

• Thursday October 23rd at
• www.searschefchallenge.com 
• 7:00 pm Central time
• 5:00 Pacific time
• 8:00 pm Eastern time 

Meet and Eat Event in San Rafael

We are getting together to celebrate the kick off of my radio presence on Green 960AM. Come out to Standards of Excellence in San Rafael on Saturday November 13 at 9am, listen to me talk on the radio about the new and sustainable cooking techniques, recipes and tricks. Sample delicious breakfast treats prepared right there using Miele appliances.

See more details and the event flyer on my facebook.

See you there! 

~ Chef Rachelle

Chillin’ with SubZero and Warming Up with Pica Pica

IDS Event buffet set up

All in a day’s work, or a few days that is. On Wednesday we celebrated with I.D.S., the Interior Design Society at our Standards of Excellence showroom in Rohnert Park with an interactive cooking party co-hosted by SubZero Refrigeration and Wolf Cooking Products. The I.D.S. crowd had a ball with us, as we set up a fall buffet of African Pumpkin Dip with Crudités, Marinated Goat Cheese with Harvest Focaccia and Grapes, Moroccan Braised Chicken with Preserved Lemon and much more including a dessert of mini-caramel apples.

I will feature the mini-caramel apples in a post right before Halloween. Here is our buffet with the dip in the center. ( photo of buffet) I love surprising guests with this unusual, healthy and so very simple dip, served with toasted pita points and carrot and celery sticks. 

Ajlouke et Potiron (African Pumpkin Dip)

• 1 ½ pound piece of pumpkin or 24 ounces of canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon whole caraway seeds
• 2 cloves of finley minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon Harissa (Tunisian hot sauce), or more to taste or other hot sauce
• Zest of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Kosher salt to taste

Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds and fibers, roast cut side down in about an inch of water at 400°F until soft, about 45 minutes or more. Cool slightly and scoop flesh from skin. Mash or press through a potato ricer.

In a large pan, heat the oil on medium heat and add the caraway seeds and garlic, stir until fragrant. Add the pumpkin, coriander, Harissa, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Cook briefly to meld flavors and stir well. Taste and adjust all ingredients to your liking. Serve at room temperature or chilled with fresh or toasted flat bread wedges and assorted crudités for dipping.

Try it and share your feedback and variations!

Jim Auer from SubZero/Wolf

Here is a shot of Jim Auer from SubZero sharing the brilliant engineering of the Wolf/ SubZero brands. Chef Tiffany and I were able to cook the entire meal for 30 in one oven using convection. Nice!

Pica Pica Maize Kitchen

On Saturday I met Venezuelan born, former east coast investment banker turned west coast chef, Adriana Lopez Verut. I co-hosted her class at Macy’s Cellar where she shared the secrets of AREPA and the story of Pica Pica Maize Kitchens in Napa and San Francisco. Arepa is “Venezuela’s daily bread” and 24/7 street food, Ariana explained. It is a remarkable round flatbread made out of Harina PAN, a pre-cooked white corn flour that is mixed with boiling water and salt, formed into English muffin sized patties and cooked on a lightly oiled hot griddle. Incredibly, the arepas hollow as they cook and are split and filled with savory fillings. She filled them with a luscious shredded skirt steak and also a chicken salad with creamy avocado sauce. Guests swooned and so did I!


Here are mini arepas being made for sampling and a full sized Arepa with Carne Mechada. Look who ended up with a plateful!

Up next, round two of the Sears Chef Challenge at the Kenmore Live Studios! Watch the live stream (8:00 central time) at www.searschefchallenge.com to see who will win to challenge Chef Mark Maassen from round one. Is it Chef John Murphy (D.C), Chef Alex Dino (N.Y.C), Chef Tiffany Friedman (L.A. by way of San Fran) or Chef Lovely (Chicago)? Who are you rooting for?

Videos from BlogHer 2010

Thank you all for your comments and enthusiasm for our delicious Pumpkin Gnocchi and our sustainable, seasonal booth display. As promised, here are the "How to" videos for both! Let me know what you think!

If you are unable to view the videos, please visit my YouTube Channel.

Blogging In, Blogging Out at BlogHER Food 2010

InterContinental Hotel San Francisco

This weekend I was surrounded by a myriad of female foodies at the BlogHER Food 2010 Conference at the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco. We met and networked with everyone from celebrity chefs to fresh new food TV personalities, as well as nationally known bloggers. It was a conference attended by hundreds of women who write and are passionate about food. It was a fascinating, cutting edge and drove home the enormous role of social media has in the food world.

I “celebrity-chef-spotted” (as you know, I have a chef-spotting eye) the sensational, genius Pastry Chef and innovator, Elizabeth Falkner and was “celebrity-chef-spotted” by the magnificent Aida Mollenkamp. As Chef Faulkner appeared, desserts literally started materializing in her wake. What a power to have!

Aida Mollenkamp

I was thrilled to be spotted by the Food Channel’s cool and beautiful new star, Aida Mollenkamp. Be sure and read my other post for more behind the scenes “Aida fun” and videos and watch her new show, Food Crafters, highlighting artisan farmers and producers from across the country.

My Standards of Excellence & Thermador booth was incredible, if I do say so myself. Our SOE team took full advantage of a very small foot print to tell our story about our passion for appliances and cooking technology. We had excellent graphics of the latest Thermador kitchen appliances, instant posting of event pictures and this blog, all very interactive and fun. I showcased the Thermador convection microwave and induction technology. I served samples of pumpkin gnocchi with a light pumpkin cream sauce - it was a huge sensation. I will post the sauce recipe on Thursday. Find the gnocchi recipe on my recipe page.

   

see more pictures from the BlogHer Food 2010 on www.standardsofexcellence.com

The other big splash we made was our eye-catching table scape. I promised to post details about it.
Drape the table with a colored accent cloth, top with white heirloom pumpkins.
Artichokes, mini pumpkins and long lasting “Safari Sunset Ruby Red Gem” stems were placed in between for interest.

Place a ¾ inch piece of plexi-glass over the entire pumpkin scape (let it rest on the height of the pumpkins). The plexi-glass should be approximately the same size as the table. Drape a fabric swag around the edge of the table.

Look for a very short “how to video” coming on Thursday.

Thanks to all the BlogHER attendees, who complimented my pumpkin gnocchi, booth design and the top notch Thermador cooking technology. I am honored to share ideas with all of you, my sisters in the blogosphere. Blogging off, until next time…Chef Rachelle.

Women, Food and Social Media. 2010 BlogHER Food hits San Francisco

The car is packed, pumpkin gnocchi made and a new adventure is on the way! The exclusive BlogHER Conference is here in San Francisco at the marvelous, modern InterContinental Hotel. I’m packing the Thermador Microwave Convection Oven and some delicious treats to head out in the wee hours of the morning to set up for two days of tasting, teaching and talking to media experts. Our tasting table will include samples of the aforementioned Pumpkin Gnocchi with a Pumpkin Sage Cream Sauce. I developed it for the exciting radio segments for Standards of Excellence Appliances debuting this Saturday on the Green Morning Show on Green 960AM. My segments will air between 9 am and noon and feature appliance tips from Miele, culinary inspiration from Whole Foods Market and seasonal recipes. See the last post for more details and be sure to tune in!

Our BlogHER theme will be “Out of Our Gourd” and we will demonstrate the Thermador Convection Microwave and cutting edge induction technology. With such a tech savvy crowd, I am sure our top-notch technology will be of great interest! We will have a table filled with heirloom pumpkins in white and sea green and edible pumpkins such as sugar pie pumpkins and kombucha squash. I hope we make a digital “splash” with our interactive and tech savvy booth.

food conference

I am so very curious about what we will see. I know we will be surrounded by brilliant chefs, bloggers, food vendors and a world of new ideas. Bloggers are a force in the world, making a huge and growing impact in the realms of social change, business networking and direct sales. Social media and mobile apps are here to stay and we will learn more about trends such as “Food Spotting” an instant food photo and review application, “Foursquare” a mobile “check in” application that businesses are rapidly adopting and “Scavenger Hunt” style applications. Business and social media are combining to bring new levels of fun and engagement to how we live and how we spend. Of course, we will all be blogging about what we learn!

How do you think that we, at Standards of Excellence Appliances can and should use this knowledge? What should we be looking for and learning? Share your ideas and feedback by logging on to this blog and posting your ideas!

Eric Gower filming at our Standards of Excellence
Showroom in San Rafael

Speaking of incredible food bloggers, I am hosting the sensational Eric Gower tonight at the Fresh Starts Cooking School at 1385 N. Hamilton Parkway in Novato for a cooking class and dinner. He is “the Breakaway Cook”, the newest food writer for the SF Chronicle. His latest “book” is coming out in the fall, as a digital video “book” called “the Breakaway Vegetarian”, partially filmed at our gorgeous Standards of Excellence showroom in San Rafael, CA.

So much digital information. Lucky for me, you can’t download a plate of food, such as my Pumpkin Gnocchi. At least not yet!

Laying Down Tracks in the Gallery and in the Studio

It was a gorgeous weekend, but I was inside testing recipes and writing for an auspicious new project. Although I love to cook, recipe testing is sometimes an agonizing process. So much so that many chefs do not do it at all. Sadly, that results in recipes that do not work. This is terrible thing to do to someone who trusts you enough to spend money, effort and time on your recipe.
I tested recipes for my upcoming Green 960AM radio segments for Standards of Excellence Appliances with Whole Foods Market as my inspiration and Miele Appliances as my technology. Last week, I was treated to a hands on lesson at the gorgeous Sierra Select Gallery, in San Francisco, by Rebecca Frye, the incredibly knowledgeable Miele Showroom Manager. We just scratched the surface of the super efficient, modern and green appliances available live in the studio. We focused on the Miele coffee systems. These brilliant built in electronic “baristas” can create a nearly unlimited number of custom beverages, espressos, cappuccinos, coffee, tea and more. The quality of the drinks is remarkable, with a huge cost and resource savings over time as opposed to going out for coffee. Here we are toasting our caffeinated success and our new friendship!

Back to radio. Our segments will air on Saturdays between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm on Green 960AM as part of the exciting Green Morning Show, anchored by the nationally recognized “An Organic Conversation”. Presented by inspirational speaker and author Helge Hellberg and produce expert Mark Mulcahy. “An Organic Conversation” is uplifting, smart, and intimate, discussing innovative solutions to today’s environmental and social challenges, healthy living, and sustainable choices. The radio show features entrepreneurs, visionaries, and leaders in the organic food and holistic health movement who share their insights and stories, giving valuable information about key topics such as increasing the quality of school lunches for kids, buying local and seasonal produce, food justice, progressive approaches to global climate change, solutions for food waste and fostering eco-literacy amongst the general public.

What a winning combination, with Whole Foods Market groceries and Standards of Excellence appliances such as the Miele Steam Oven, Convection Ovens and more, my inspiration will never end! The segments will feature culinary technology, techniques and seasonal recipes inspired by my culinary adventures in the Bay Area and beyond.

This week’s recipe is a homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with a Sage Pumpkin Cream. Recipes will be posted here and on chefrachelleboucher.com in time for the segment.
Listen in and let me know what you think!