Move over Kirstie Alley. There's a new fatso in town.

Here's the plated dessert that I made for my test. I stole the idea from the place I am currently staging at. It is a chocolate genoise cake with chocolate cremeux and peanut butter ganache topped with chocolate and cocoa nibs. This was served with a caramelized banana ice cream that was f*cking out of this world.

Plated Desserts made me call Jenny Craig

So we've entered the second course of plated desserts. That's 21 days of 2-3 plated desserts I've been eating! I know none of you feel bad for me. I think my face is getting rounder. The Ligurian Lemon Cake shown here is one of the most photogenic that we've made. Ligurian, Italy is known for their lemons and olive oil which is what this cake consists of along with raspberries. After baking the cake, it is topped with a swiss meringue and then bruleed. Accompanying it is an orange pomegranate salad in brandy syrup dressing, honey almond gelato and an almond tuile. The plating reminds me of autumn when the leaves turn brown, orange, and red and start to fall to the ground.

Banana Macadamia Nut Financier

Food XXX Alert: I am about to tear off my clothes, crawl up on my desk, and lick the luscious caramel off this screen!

The Jalousie Wife

The word Jalousie means "jealousy" in French. It also is the word for slatted window blinds. This dessert is also called Jalousie. It is named that because it resembles the slatted window blinds a jealous wife is peeping through to catch her cheating husband! Oooooooh how I love the French! Especially when they smoke that crack and come up with crazy names for desserts.

The pastry is made out of puff pastry and usually filled with a fruit jam. The one shown here however, is not a dessert. Puff pastry can be used in both sweet and savory foods. This jalousie is filled with sauteed mushrooms and escarole with a bechamel sauce.

Sweet and Salty

Oh this was awesome and it was a nice break from eating sugary sweets. The tart was layered with figs and goat cheese (which I love!) on top of puff pastry (which I also love!). It was served with hazelnut creme anglaise and a red wine reduction and then topped with hazelnut fiq swirl ice cream. The goat cheese adds a nice hint of savory to this sweet dish. Talk about yuuuu-may!

A Fish Out of Water

Is it a little masochistic that I like the feeling of pulling hot sugar with my naked hands? If you love the look of poured sugar you will love pulled sugar. Pulling sugar creates this iridescent opaque color. It is thin and very fragile. I really love how the scales came out on my fish. I added orange color to it but after I pulled the scales it turned a lovely shiny copper color.

Meet My Fish Azul

I love working with sugar. It was little scary having hot molten sugar lava so close to my hands. Once the sugar hardens it is translucent, shiny, and smooth. The light makes the vibrant jewel tones look like stained glass. Tomorrow I'll be adding on some pulled sugar scales so stay tuned folks!

When Life Gives You Lemons or Limes....

Juice them and freeze it!

Lemon and lime juice is the secret to adding life and dimension to a savory or sweet dish. It really adds that wow factor! Adding a little lemon juice to a fruit compote or even uncooked fruit adds vibrance and freshness to the flavor. I also love sour in my savory food because it makes me more hungry. It's great to have a little acid in marinades because it makes meat tender. I like to spritz a little in my soup, especially thai soups! I try to always have lemon and limes around but sometimes they go bad and I have to throw them away. What a shame. Just recently I made two loaves of lemon pound cake and I had a bunch of leftover lemons so I juiced them and froze the juice in ice cube trays. It's perfect because now I always have lemon/lime juice on hand for an impromptu sauce or marinade and I can use as little or much as I want without wasting a whole lemon/lime. It's also perfect when you need the zest for something but don't need the juice. I feel bad when I zest my citrus fruit and they sit on the counter all naked. In the above picture I used the zest to brighten up pineapple chunks that I was using in a coconut mousse cake. The juice is waiting in the freezer ready to add some zing to my next dish!

Sugarpaste Flowers with Chef Ron Ben Israel