GHA Farmers Market

Come visit me at the GHA Farmers Market this Sunday, October 30th from 1-5PM at Gilliland's Heritage Alpaca Farm in Hoschton, GA. I will have some great Halloween and fall-inspired treats.

Stay tuned later this week for pictures of all my sweets you will find there.

Good cooking is all the chemistry

Check this out! Found in the Gwinnett Daily Post Sunday October 23, 2011

LARSON: Good cooking is all in the chemistry

By Susan Larson (59)

It's a funny thing how memories are triggered. I was strolling through the Lilburn Farmers Market last month when I saw what I thought to be a high school girl selling the most beautiful little truffles, brownies and pies I've ever seen. It made me think of all the times I'd subbed in advanced placement gifted chemistry classes. Invariably a student would ask me, "Are you a real chemistry teacher or are you just a mom?"

"I'm just a mom," I'd reply, "but I'm so glad to be subbing for a class full of such highly intelligent students, because I have a question you might be able to answer. When I bake cookies, I always use the same ingredients, but sometimes they puff up in a mound and sometimes they are flat. Why is that?"

No one could ever give me an answer.

So just to be a wee bit devilish, I asked the young lady how she got her little pastries to come out so perfect each time. She went on to explain in far more detail than I could possibly understand.

It turns out this young lady, Loren Myers, is a research technician at Emory University with a master's degree in biology and chemistry. Her work involves studying the development of the gut in premature infants. Somehow, her side business seemed to connect in a weird sort of way for me, but Myers said that was no so for her co-workers."

"They thought it was strange at first that I would be so interested in cooking, but if you can follow a science experiment, you can follow a recipe. It's all about consistency, quality and keeping good notes," she said.

Myers started baking with her mother as a child and always had a curiosity about the scientific aspects of what happens in the oven or on the stove.

"I made my first cake in fifth grade and the icing didn't look as nice as my mother's. I later realized I had cooked it too long," Myers said.

Over time she became more and more interested not in cookbooks, but in technique books.

"If you know the physics behind baking, you can experiment because you know why things happen."

Myers named her business Sugar Bear Sweetery, after her mother's pet name for her when she was growing up. All her little sweets are scientifically developed in her kitchen and scientifically tested in the lab by her co-workers.

"They all love it when I bring my latest experiments to work and there are a few foodies who give good feedback because they totally analyze things."

If you'd like to learn more about Myers' science projects, visit sugarbearsweetery.blogspot.com. If you'd like to do some scientific research on your own, the Gwinnett Library has several good books on kitchen chemistry.

And I wonder: Do you think we could get Jeff Foxworthy to host a show called "Are you Smarter than an Advanced Placement Gifted Chemistry Student?"

Susan Larson is a writer who lives in Lilburn Email her at susanlarson79@gmail.com.

Sweet Potatoes!!!!

I had a small space left in my garden this summer and for some reason though that sweet potatoes would be a good idea to plant. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the space requirements and as the summer went on, the sweet potato grew..and grew...and grew. Before I knew it, the vines took up almost half my garden, killing off my cucumbers.

I tried a few weeks ago to dig up some sweet potatoes, but no luck. I was really disappointed. I went on vacation and forgot about them. It rained the first few days after I got back, so I didn't go look in my garden. Well, yesterday I finally got a few minutes to really look through my garden. Lo and behold, I saw two sweet potatoes starting to break through the surface. I grabbed my trowel and started digging.

Before I knew it, I had a huge pile of sweet potatoes!!! I was dancing and doing my best Oprah 'sweet potato' impression. Probably a little more excited than I should have been, but it felt like such an accomplishment to harvest my sweet potatoes.

The bowl full of sweet potatoes isn't even all of the potatoes out there. I ran out of room to keep them, so I left the rest in the ground. I probably still have just as many left to harvest. YAYAY!!!!

And as the picture above shows, I also have a watermelon or two in there, too. I should bring them inside, even though they are still a bit small since it looks like it will be getting very cold the next few nights. I have loved my garden and everything I have grown tasted so good. Not only because it was fresh from the garden, but also because I knew that I worked to produce it. The sense of pride and knowing just where my food came from is truly empowering.

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup

I have started a collection of local cookbooks whenever I travel, so of course I was looking for a Disney related cookbook. There are a few out there and my sister in law bought one that had recipes from the Disney cruise ships. It looked interesting, but I wasn't sure if it was quite right. Then we saw the cookbook for the festival and I knew that was it! It contained recipes from several of the dishes we had tried and also had some of the cocktail recipes. When I was flipping through the book, the first thing I looked for was the Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup...yes! It was there and the book was mine! I can't wait to try it out!

My husband's brother and sister in law kept mentioning this 'beer cheese soup' they wanted. That was the top of their priority list when it came to Epcot's Food and Wine Festival, going on now through November 13th. We made it around to the Canadian booth and had to try it. It was a huge hit for my husband!

Even if the book hadn't contained that specific recipe, I could have found a copy on the Festival's website. So I reprinted it here in case you want to try it at home.

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup:

Makes 6 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
1 pound sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup pale ale, room temperature
Chopped scallions or chives, for garnish

Directions:
1. Cook bacon in a 4- or 5-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Add onion, celery and butter; sauté until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour and stir constantly for about 4 minutes.
4. Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add milk and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Do not boil after adding milk.
6. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, Tabasco, Worcestershire, salt and pepper until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. Stir in ale. If soup is too thick, thin to desired consistency with warm milk.
7. Serve hot, garnished with scallions or chives.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

I was lucky enough to spend last week in Orlando, experiencing all Disney and Universal Studios has to offer. My husband and I signed up for the Food and Wine Festival Half Marathon Relay. That was the only way he could ever get me to participate in a half marathon. I had to run about 5 miles and his leg was 8. It was an event to kick off Epcot's 2011 Food and Wine Festival and started at 10PM. Yes, PM, not AM. But that meant that the after party in Epcot was filled with lots of food and wine options.

Epcot's Food and Wine Festival is a tapas-type event where 29 different countries/stations offered a few different small plates plus some beer/wine/cocktails that suited their nationality. After the race we only tried a few places, but we also spent an entire day in Epcot eating around the world. It was so much fun and a perfect event for someone like me that enjoys trying lots of different things. To make it even better our parents and my husbands brother and his family were all there. That meant that I didn't need to buy every single thing I wanted to try, we shared a lot of the dishes, which cut down on the price (and just a few of the calories...but hey, it was vacation, they don't count!!).

Here are some of the delicious plates I tasted:
- Mexico: rib eye beef tacos, delicious!!
- China: black pepper shrimp with Sichuan noodles, pork pot stickers...both were big winners!
- South Korea: lettuce wraps with roast pork and kimchi slaw, Boolgogi BBq beef with steamed rice and kimchi...I discovered I am not a fan of kimchi. I have always wanted to try it, but now I know it isn't my favorite.
- Germany: goulash suppe, Nuernberger sausage in a pretzel roll
- Italy: Di formaggio all'Emiliana (baked cheese ravioli with creamy beef Bolognese sauce, Parmesan cheese, and melted mozzarella)
- Hops and Barley: Linda Bean's perfect Maine lobster roll. Another dish I have been looking forward to trying, even though I have not been a big lobster fan in the past (I grew up in Maryland...no seafood beats crab in my opinion). I know lots of people really like this dish, but it wasn't as good as it was hyped up to be. I liked it, don't get me wrong, I was glad I tried it, but it won't be making a repeat appearance in the future. My curiosity was satisfied.
- Singapore: beef Randang (coconut-braised beef) with jasmine rice
- Japan: spicy tuna roll...without a doubt a favorite with my husband. How do I know? I only got a tiny taste before it disappeared!
- Morocco: Kefta pocket (ground seasoned beef in a pita pocket), Harissa chicken roll...both very very good.
- Belgium: Belgium waffle with berry compote and whipped cream
- France: Sparkling pomegranate kir, Parisian Cosmo slush (Ciroc vodka, Grand Marnier and cranberry juice)
- Ireland: Cheese assortment (aged Irish cheddar, Dubliner and Ivernia cheeses) with apple chutney, chocolate lava cake with Baileys ganache
- Canada: Canadian cheddar cheese soup (more on this in the next post), chicken chipotle sausage with sweet corn polenta
- Desserts and Champagne booth: white chocolate macadamia mousse with dark chocolate pearls

This festival lasts until November 13th, so if you are in the Orlando area, be sure to check it out! Its a great time with lots of great food and drinks. I bought a cookbook with a bunch of the recipes in it, so I am sure it will be used often!

Homemade Beef Franks

I know I haven't posted much recently, I haven't been making new things very often the last few weeks. The summer was crazy with the Lilburn Farmers Market, which was a great experience and I had a wonderful time! It just took me a little bit to recover from all those crazy days. Now I am rejuvenated and ready to attack new projects!

For my next new experience, I decided it was time to make my own sausages. A few weeks ago my husband and I went to the outlets and I finally got the food grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. I had been thinking about it for about a year or so, but just hadn't bought it. One, I was anxious about buying a $50 attachment. I always worry about money and I also worry about whether or not I will really get any use out of it. I didn't want it to be something that ended up just taking up space in my kitchen. That real estate is getting more and more expensive with all my tools/electrics, etc.

Two, I was worried about making the actual sausages. I've never used natural casings before and didn't know how to handle them. Plus, while I am somewhat of an adventurous eater, the idea still kinda creeped me out a bit. It is one of those things where I know I eat sausages often, but I choose to 'forget' or 'ignore' the whole intestines thing. It works better that way for me.

But if I wanted to control the ingredients, I needed to 'man up' and deal with the casings. I watched a demo at Williams Sonoma a while back and looked back at the notes they gave us. Plus I did a little background checking online. Armed with the information and my natural casings from Patton's Meat Market, I was ready to give it a shot.

For my first attempt, I chose an all beef frank. I found a recipe on thespicysausage.com that utilized beef chuck seasoned with cayenne, coriander, garlic, onions and mace. It sounded interesting to me. I just wasn't in the mood for a pork sausage this time and this recipe seemed simple enough and used ingredients I usually have on hand.

In my internet searches, many sites suggested grinding the meat two to three times. So I took my beef chuck, cut it into long strips and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes (another online suggestion), then put it through my brand spankin new grinder with the coarse grinding plate. I combined the extra ingredients and mixed them in with the meat. I changed out the grinding plate to the fine one and ground the meat for a second time.

It was at this point that I realized I didn't have the sausage stuffer attachment. Ugh!!! I don't know why I was thinking it came in the box, and I don't know why it took this long to notice I was missing a vital piece of equipment. After searching online, I found a store 20 minutes away that had one in stock...crisis averted.

I soaked the hog casings in water for 20-30 minutes, then fed a large amount onto the sausage stuffer attachment (which I greased with a little bit of Crisco to prevent it from sticking). There was no turning back now! Onward and upward. I slowly fed the meat into the food hopper and made my sausages. It took a little bit to get used to feeding the hopper with one hand and guiding the sausage with the other, but it worked out well in the end. I kept the meat cold by placing the tray in the fridge while I fed some through the machine. Well, I said I, but I meant my husband, who had to get up every few minutes to get the tray out of the fridge for me. I only have so many hands, you know.

There were a few air bubbles in the sausages, but it wasn't too bad. Nothing a little hole couldn't fix. I sectioned off each link and ended up with about 25 sausages from my initial 4.75 pounds of beef chuck steak. Not too bad. I placed the sausages in the fridge to cure for a few hours before cooking them on the stovetop (the grill was out of gas).

I was really pleased with the final product. I was worried the casing would be a distraction, but everything was very smooth and tasted great. There were a few places where the seasoning was a little bit stronger than others, but that was because the bowl I used was just barely big enough and evidentally I didn't mix it quite as well as I could have. But other than that, it was a great first try. Successful enough that I think there will be more homemade sausages in the future, as well as grinding our own meat for burgers and such.

I froze the remaining sausages to take with us on vacation next week with our families. Hopefully they will enjoy them as much as we do!



Here is the recipe, courtesy of The Spicy Sausage (except I used a hog casing):

5-lb beef chuck, fine ground
3-tbsp coriander
1 1/2-tsp cayenne
1 1/2-tbsp salt
1/2-cup onions, grated
1-cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2-tsp mace
5-garlic cloves, minced
2-tsp sugar
1-cup water

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until very fine
Stuff into lamb or sheep casing

Dal Cuore Market

Come join me (and my s'mores and my cake truffles) at the opening of the Dal Cuore Market in John's Creek TONIGHT!!! This awesome new market is all natural, sustainable and organic. A great addition to the area!

The details:
Tonight, Friday September 9, 2011

Dal Cuore Market

2100 Ray Moss Connector Johns Creek, GA 30022

Johns Creek, GA

Yonah Mountain Vineyards Crush Fest 2011

Introducing Two New Cake Truffle Flavors: German Chocolate and Peppermint Patty!!!

German Chocolate: All the elements of the quintessential German Chocolate cake; a mildly sweet chocolate cake studded with chopped pecans and coconut that is dipped in milk chocolate and topped with sweetened coconut.

Peppermint Patty: Peppermint buttercream enhances a fudge cake to taste just like the candy; its dipped in dark chocolate and topped with chopped peppermint patties to give that extra peppermint kick.

Countdown to Crush Fest

We are rapidly approaching this years Crush Fest at Yonah Mountain Vineyards!!!! Take the drive up to beautiful north Georgia for lots of wine stomping, music-listening, sweet-eating fun!!!

Come be a part of Crush Fest this Saturday from 11AM-7PM in Cleveland, Georgia. The address is 1717 Highway 255, Cleveland, GA 30528. There will be wine stomping, bands, wine tasting, great craft and food vendors and horse-drawn carriage rides!

Sugar Bear Sweetery will be there with cake truffles, including the new German Chocolate, fruit pies, cookies and, of course, s'mores!

Also be sure to check out Saucy Spirits and their delicious wine jellies!!! I can't wait to taste all the new flavors.

Everyday Indulgence will also be a part of this festival, so there will certainly be lots of wonderful things to eat!

I am excited for this event and can't wait to spend the day at the gorgeous Yonah Mountain Vineyards!!

Final Lilburn Farmers Market Friday 4-8PM

Its been a great season, but it is time for the Lilburn Farmers Market to come to an end. The final market will be this Friday, August 26th from 4PM to 8PM. Come on out to Main Street and enjoy all there is for this wonderful market to offer.

Here is what you need to look forward to at the Sugar Bear Sweetery Booth:

• Mini Pies: This week there will be peach, veggie pot pie and chicken pot pie. Get a few extra to store in the freezer for those cravings down the road!
• Cookies: brown sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, M&Ms cookies, oatmeal cream pies.
• Brownie Bites
• S'mores!!! Brown sugar cookies + homemade marshmallows + milk or dark chocolate + a creme brulee torch = a great take on the campfire classic!
• I will also have some of my pimento cheese available for those who have been asking for its return!
  

Crush Fest 2011

Crush Fest this September 3rd 11AM-7PM hosted by Yonah Mountain Vineyards near Cleveland, GA.

Come enjoy good wine, good food, good shopping and lots of fun!!! I will be there with cookies and cake truffles and s'mores. I look forward to seeing you then!!!

On the menu for this Friday's Lilburn Farmers Market:

Chicken pot pie
Chili pot pie (both vegetarian and non)
Apple pie
Brownie bites
Brown sugar cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
S'mores!!!

Oh and by special request I will also be bringing some of my pimento cheese that was such a hit two weeks ago!

I can't wait to see you there!

Cuban Sandwiches

I have been craving Cuban sandwiches for quite a while now, but I have not had a clue where to go here in Atlanta to satisfy that desire. So rather than keep whining about it, I decided to make my own, thanks to the King Arthur Flour recipe seen below. I mostly followed the directions, except that I cooked the pork in a slow cooker on low for 10 hours. I knew it would make the pork super tender and more flakey than roasting it, but it was the simplest option for me at the time. I am not so picky as to care if the pork was in slices or shredded.

In the end, it was a great dinner. Or dinners I should say. It made enough for three full nights for my husband and myself. I loved the bread and once I got the hang of using my cast iron skillet press, it could not have been better. It will definitely have to be a repeat meal in our household!





Pan Cubano
4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter; or 3 tablespoons fresh lard, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) water

Roast Pork and Marinade
1 1/4 pounds boneless pork: roast, ribs, chops, or pork tenderloin
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced parsley
1 tablespoon paprika (preferably hot)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime juice 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

Sandwich Filling
sliced roast pork
1/4 to 1/3 pound thinly sliced smoked ham
3/4 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
dill pickles, sliced (about 11 ounces; about 1 1/2 large "pickle barrel" pickles)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) melted butter or olive oil (1 3/4 ounces)

Bread:
Combine the ingredients as directed at left, using a flat beater paddle or beaters, then switch to the dough hook(s) and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise, with a turn, as directed above.

Divide the dough into six pieces, and shape each piece into a rough log. Let the logs rest for 15 minutes, covered, then shape each piece into a smooth batard shape (a log about 8 inches long, slightly tapered at each end). Place the loaves on a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet.

Let the loaves rise, covered, for 1 hour. Brush or spray them with water, and slash one long lengthwise slit down the middle of each loaf. Preheat the oven to 375°F while the loaves are rising. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, or until it's golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool it on a rack. The loaves may be made one day in advance and stored at room temperature, or several weeks in advance and frozen. Yield: 6 sandwich loaves.

Roasting The Pork: Mix all of the marinade ingredients together (all of the ingredients except the pork), and rub this mixture over all surfaces of the pork. Cover well, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours.

Place the pork in a roasting pan or ovenproof dish, and roast it in a preheated 425°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until cooked through. Remove the pork from the oven, and cool it completely before slicing thinly.

Ambitious Week

Here is the current lineup for this Friday's Lilburn Farmers Market:

• Mini Pies: chicken pot pies

• peach pie

• Cookies: brown sugar cookies with and without chocolate chips
• oatmeal cream pies
  

• S'mores: The homemade vanilla marshmallows and your choice of chocolate will be back by popular demand this week!
  

• Ready to eat foods: Purely Simple Catering will not be at the market this week so I have volunteered to bring the following:

bbq pork with my own secret ingredient barbeque sauce
pimiento cheese
homemade potato chips
sodas

It seems like an awful lot to get done, but I am hopeful I can get to it all. I also hope to make a vegetarian chili pot pie, if I can find the extra time!!!

Lilburn Farmers Market This Friday!

Here are a few things to look forward to at the Lilburn Farmers Market this Friday:


Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Mini Cherry Pies
Mini Apple Pies

Brown sugar cookies
M&Ms cookies
And any other cookies that I am inspired to make by Friday!

Tag Line

I am trying to come up with a tag line, any ideas?

So far I like 'where sweet dreams come true'

What do you think? I need some other options.

Christmas in July 16th, and July 17th

Time	Saturday at 10:00am - July 17 at 4:00pm
Location	Gilliland Heritage Alpaca Farm 1587 Dee Kennedy Road Hoschton, Georgia 30548
Created By	Lisa Slater
More Info	Lots of fun for the whole family! Come join us for the Christmas in July Celebration! 26 plus Artisans of food and art. There will be a water color demostration, cooking demos and tons to of samples. It is July so there will be lots of produce and a Truckload of watermelons available both days! Come join all the fun!Actvities for the whole family. Alpaca tours both days!

Fourth of July Specials!!!!

It is a holiday weekend, so there will be lots of 4th of July-themed goodies. They are great for your large holiday get togethers or an intimate family gathering. Call or email if you wish to reserve some of these treats. Otherwise, come out to the Lilburn Farmers Market Friday 4-8PM and the GHA Farmers Market Sunday 1-5PM and stock up!









Funfetti Cake Pops: Enjoy a vanilla cake studded with red, white and blue jimmies that is encased in either red or white chocolate and topped with more jimmies!

S'mores: In addition to my normal s'mores offerings, I also have a special coffee flavored marshmallow. Chocolate and coffee...yum!!!

Mini pies: I have cherry and apple mini pies available. They are individual sized so each person gets their own mini treat! What is more American than apple or cherry pie?

Instant Coffee plus sugar syrup = DISASTER

In preparation for the markets this weekend, I decided to add another flavor of marshmallow to my customizable s'mores. I already have 4 types of chocolate to choose from (milk, white, dark and dark with mint) and several other add-ons to make them special (Nutella, peanut butter, raspberry jam, orange marmalade and my recent addition of blackberry Merlot from Saucy Spirits).

Adding another marshmallow option was next on my list. Coffee and chocolate are a great combination and would have a wide appeal.

Here's a brief run through on how to make marshmallows. Soften gelatin in some water in a large mixing bowl with a whip attachment. Make a sugar syrup and heat to 240 degrees and slowly add to the softened gelatin. Once all the sugar syrup has been added, turn the mixer on high and whip for 10-20 minutes, or until thickened. Add vanilla or other flavoring and transfer to a greased pan to set up.

I toyed with where to add the instant coffee crystals. Whether I should add them to the water in which the gelatin softens or to the sugar syrup or at the very end. I didn't think the crystals would dissolve very well if I added them with the vanilla, even though one recipe I found chose to add it then. The water for softening the gelatin needs to be cool and I wasn't sure how the coffee would affect the gelatin.

So I just made my simple syrup in my same pot as usual and added two teaspoons of coffee granules. It made sense and things were going well until it reached a boil. At which time it majorly boiled over in half a second. Which spilled all over the hot stove, which caused a lot of smoke, which made the house fire alarm go off, which made the company call the house, but the house phone's battery was dead so I couldn't answer it, while trying to keep the sugar syrup from running onto the floor, running over to the alarm panel 5 times to shut it off, the dogs were upset at the smoke and the sound, then the garage door starts to open...my husband is coming home, the house phone starts ringing again at the same time as my cell phone, I am able to tell the guy not to send the fire department just as my husband walks in to the mess, all the while he is getting phone calls about the alarm. Then both our cell phones go off at the same time, our friends were calling to see if we were ok since they were evidently our emergency contacts through the alarm company.

Did you follow all that? And it all happened in a span of 2-3 minutes. Needless to say I am more than a little embarrassed about it all. And it doesn't help that I wasn't alone to clean up all the mess and no one would ever know better. Or that I could fix it all then tell people and laugh about it after the fact. But it is what it is. And now I am telling all of you about it.

So what do you think, should I give coffee marshmallows another shot? Maybe I will add the coffee crystals in the end and see how that goes. I am a little gun shy after the disaster I just made, but it happens to the best of us. I just need to pick myself up and keep trying because I never know what I can do until I try.