tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37570881911442898832011-04-21T20:13:37.786-04:00Baking, the most sensual act on earth. There really is nothing more enticing than the sweet smell of baked goods, the sweet smell of love; whether it's cake love, pie love, cookie love or buttermilk honey bread love, baking; one of the few ways we deliver divine homemade goodness to the ones we love.Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-42067708713210261042009-01-15T08:10:00.001-05:002009-01-15T08:12:39.160-05:00

Lifelong learning is the concept that states it’s never too late or too early to learn. The term recognizes that our ability to grasp knowledge is not confined to childhood or the classroom, but takes place throughout life and can range from something as simple as downloading a program for the first time with no assistance to preparing a Turducken as directed in Paul Prudhommes cookbook The

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-59364632737148613702009-01-13T09:50:00.002-05:002009-01-13T09:54:17.056-05:00

If you have lived for a while on this earth you will notice that there is very little new under the sun, with the exception of perhaps technology, which we're not talking about here. There are creative and interesting ways to use sugar, chocolate, spices and herbs in baking. There are fascinating ways to decorate cakes, cookies and all things sweet and edible. If you are a seasoned cook/baker you

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-70067740700391066852009-01-12T19:24:00.000-05:002009-01-12T22:20:21.768-05:00

I am going to tell you a story so just roll with it. Once upon a time there was a little child who loved his mother very much. Mom and dad worked very hard to provide "little man" with everything he needed and most of the things he wanted. One day it was discovered that mom was going to have a baby; twins to be exact. This made "little man" very happy. When the babies arrived home, a very

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-40196625000355267642009-01-09T13:32:00.000-05:002009-01-12T13:34:22.591-05:00

What purpose does a website serve today if it’s not generating revenue? I teach a home-based bakery course and work with home-based bakers who sell their baked goods either for a living or part-time to generate extra income for the household. As our economy dips further into a recession everyone is searching for ways to make extra money. It would be wrong to say all these little earn extra

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-52685129636369281142009-01-03T07:26:00.007-05:002009-01-03T09:08:29.967-05:00

Can you prepare a simple dish of Peppered Steak? As I look at all the ingredients involved in making this seemingly simply "skillet" dish, I began to realize the endless amount of knowledge about both ingredients and technique needed to make it a reality. Then I got to thinkin about the basic make up of this dish and...Slow food. I know there are those of a different generation who want to think

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-77239353133013966522008-12-30T21:55:00.004-05:002008-12-30T21:58:42.342-05:00

Are you threatened by a potential job-loss? Recently I had an opportunity to speak with a woman who loss her job. She had been in the retail business most of her adult life and benefited from the base salary and the commissions received from sales. There was never any doubt that this would be her lot in life, until unemployment made her think, perhaps life would deliver an alternative.I met

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-50121593596886217122008-12-25T23:04:00.004-05:002008-12-30T21:54:32.313-05:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in;

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-25707095864237692842008-12-16T09:14:00.003-05:002008-12-30T21:08:09.252-05:00

Well, my daughter, who is 28 years young finally learned to make cinnamon buns. She loves them and has wanted to do this for many years. What stopped her? Fear of failure. I kept telling her that old adage "if at first you don't succeed" well that didn't work, but for some reason on Monday, she got up the nerve and did it and this is the result.No, it wasn't easy and they were not perfect. I know

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-80474921687586082482008-12-04T09:17:00.002-05:002008-12-20T22:17:56.419-05:00

One thing I have done to cut corners is ask the butcher at my local market to provide me with "Shanks and Bones with the meat on." For example I located a veal shank and lamb shank with very little meat, but enough meat to make a savory experiment. I asked the butcher how often he had these cuts and he said often but no one really purchases them because it's not enough to feed a family of four.

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-62908808085485673432008-11-28T14:42:00.000-05:002008-12-11T16:12:57.860-05:00

Recently a dear friend, who is not a baker attempted to bake on of the pies in my cookbook, Little Black Book of Pies. Again, I would like to emphasize she is not a seasoned baker or cook; but what many might call a true novice in the kitchen. She read the recipe and wanted to make the buttermilk coconut pie on page 77. We discussed and reviewed the recipe and I attempted to walk her

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-12919523407714659352008-11-25T19:04:00.000-05:002008-12-11T17:12:10.568-05:00

Well, it is official, we are in a recession. Oh no, don’t call me a pessimist, I heard it on CNN. No really...you know everything you hear on CNN is try? :-) Well, let's just say I'm a realist and have lived long enough to know that if you do not take responsibility for your actions, you are doomed to pay a costly price. Lesson learned…all good things come to an end. Now with that said let me

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-11479995501762358182008-11-18T17:12:00.000-05:002008-12-11T17:17:56.612-05:00

All of my life I have known about the wonders of liquid food. It is cheap, relatively easy to prepare, filling and almost always taste better the next day. Most folks will tell you that liquid food is alright, but just does not satisfy that urge to chew; I beg to differ however. Oh yeah, what is liquid food, you know, yeah you do…soup! I can remember my mother making homemade soup as a child

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-86321795414820808732008-11-11T16:16:00.001-05:002008-12-11T16:24:08.562-05:00

Recently, I started organizing my cookbooks and setting them up like a library. I love cookbooks and I, like many foodies and cooking fanatics can read them like a novel. I had a little time on my hands before Thanksgiving this year and decided to look at the cookbooks I have from a number of different countries. I won’t go through all of them but I share some info about three. There is a

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-77030330724493649872008-09-12T09:55:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:42:53.835-05:00

I have been a huge fan of the “stickin rose” for more than thirty years. I would eat it in everything if it did not have such an abusive aroma and pungent taste causing an offensive breath that could and have waken the dead. I have learned from experience that the more you chop or crush garlic the more potent it is; and when left in its raw form the flavor is quite subtle. If you are looking for

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-22053935365837612412008-09-05T17:00:00.000-04:002008-12-11T17:03:55.366-05:00

I have been looking for a tasty, healthy salad dressing recipe for years. I don’t want that traditional lemon juice and olive oil dressing and I don’t want anything white, like the ranch and bleu cheese dressings. I am looking for something different. This search has taken me back to the early cookbooks where the photos were all black and white or none existent. I do not eat salads every day,

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-90040531363862057532008-09-02T07:03:00.001-04:002008-12-11T16:59:38.419-05:00

I just returned from a visit to a used bookstore and sat on this hard floor for more than an hour looking through cookbooks dated pre-1950s. I was specifically looking for books that do not have photographs. I know we have moved into a time when we now eat with our eyes and not our mind, okay so some of you don’t know what I mean, but believe it or not there was a time when I could just write

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-69266257168556792752008-08-28T21:49:00.010-04:002008-09-08T17:32:41.771-04:00

It's Sunday morning and I am sitting in the big comfy chair at my daughter’s listening to her chop vegetables as I write this Blog. I am watching the marathon of cooking shows that come on every Sunday morning instead of attending my favorite place of worship. Today I needed to write, and relieve my mind of the stresses that filled my head with a fog of disdain. Food TV Network has been on

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-35278790452304911922008-08-25T21:45:00.001-04:002008-08-27T21:30:14.906-04:00

Last weekend I was invited to afternoon tea at the Washington Duke Inn on Duke University's campus. This was the weekend students were returning to school for more academics and college time fun. Let there be no mistake college is not all about the books!If you have never been to the Duke University Campus, you are in for a huge surprise. It is nestled in Durham, North Carolina and the Gothic

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-41022339573963127312008-08-18T19:56:00.013-04:002009-01-03T09:11:48.595-05:00

The Queen of Cookies, Mrs. Fields has filed Chapter 11. Recently I watched a news report that said the Mrs. Fields Cookie Company was filing bankruptcy because people were no longer shopping in malls, filling that occasional sugar rush with a Mrs. Fields' chocolate chip cookie. I was sad to hear about Mrs. Fields', the same way I was sad to hear about the Miami Bake Shoppe at Northland Mall, in

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-84690452321646155402008-08-05T15:27:00.003-04:002008-08-30T13:23:27.216-04:00

I have been cooking and baking now for more than twenty five years (dare I say thirty) and although I can say that my mom, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends of my moms and others have been most influential in my culinary journey; there is a man who really helped me see the light when it came to putting dynamic flavor in food. I know this Blog will probably never be read by Chef Prudhomme it is

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-70321390770426248312008-07-28T21:41:00.009-04:002008-08-30T13:27:53.765-04:00

A few months ago I self-published a cookbook titled Little Black Book of Pies. I am someone who is passionate about food and people learning to cook good food. I am a dying breed, a good old fashioned cook who wants folks to know that anyone can be a good cook and baker.Years ago, when I was a child I took piano lessons from a woman who I later learned was not a great piano teacher, but a good

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-32304201400838162522008-07-21T16:13:00.001-04:002008-08-15T18:22:27.583-04:00

Recently I was on Blog Talk Radio’s The Recipe Box with Barbara Howard and although we were talking about back to school lunch ideas, she mentioned that on an upcoming program she would be discussing the issues associated with the recent wave of food-related headlines questioning the safety of our food source. While there will always be areas that need improvement, our food supply is safer than

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-17359754359112478342008-07-15T18:14:00.002-04:002008-08-18T20:15:24.782-04:00

There has been a lot of discussion in the news and at the water cooler about the introduction of a four day work week. Personally, I think the four day work week would be fabulous. I will take it a bit further and say for those who want and can work from home five days a week and their job would not suffer, that option should be offered too. Today it is imperative that employers and employees

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-33973896305963472462008-07-12T06:50:00.001-04:002008-07-12T06:52:26.219-04:00

Recently I listened to a “talk radio” personality discussing a plan he concocted to lose weight. He discovered a new out patient procedure that involved limiting the amount of food intake, thereby preventing weight gain. I have never seen this individual in person (just photographs, yes he is overweight) but he said he is having the procedure as a “preventative measure.” My personal opinion is

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-69959402380688760302008-06-29T09:48:00.000-04:002008-06-29T09:50:06.591-04:00

I once heard that Confucius believed the most natural needs of human beings are food, sex and more food, in that order. No, this is not a blog about sex; however it is my take on the sensuality of food. The lure of food, the power it holds over every man and woman. My minister once made the comment that "hunger will make a monkey eat pepper." Well, if hunger can do that to a monkey, dare I ask

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-88257397817022303752008-06-15T09:25:00.006-04:002008-06-15T09:30:53.290-04:00

There is really nothing worse than being jobless in the summertime, except perhaps being jobless in the winter during a snow storm in Cook County. News reports about the economy are of little consolation to those who are unemployed. It is a hopeless felling when you are jobless in the heart of a recession. What is a jobless person to do? Cook. Can’t Cook? Learn. Think about your God

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-51513973569328961532008-06-03T08:45:00.009-04:002008-06-22T09:05:08.353-04:00

I am going to flip the switch here a bit and talk about a subject that is near and dear to my heart. A growing concern with many parents today is what to do with their latchkey teens. Yes, they are old enough to stay home alone, but should they be home alone with “nothing” to do? Of course the issue has always been a concern, but today with so much exposure to online porn, drugs, and violence

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-19882380980784600582008-05-26T07:31:00.002-04:002008-06-15T07:47:04.057-04:00

It has been oven fifteen years since I came up with the idea that a home bakery produces the best and tastiest baked goods. Years ago there were many women who could bake an excellent apple pie, or heavenly pound cake. Today most women are too busy to bake anything, and the few that do have a smidgen of time are to busy to bake anything. The idea that there are no real bakers around to bake

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-90738321950859950042008-05-19T18:56:00.008-04:002008-06-15T06:56:57.091-04:00

In 1982 I was returning from Okinawa, Japan after serving in the United States Navy and on the way to Detroit decided to stop in Oakland California to visit my daughter's Great Aunt Edith. Great Aunt Edith was a true victory gardener, a southern-belle, gracious, kind, with a heart of gold. I admired her self-preservation skills and her ability to give knowledge and wisdom so effortlessly.I

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-21941065537296862442008-05-12T05:34:00.000-04:002008-06-15T06:37:47.865-04:00

Recently I corresponded with Dr. LuAnn Soliah of Baylor University about an article she wrote some years ago with a colleague titled “Current Home Baking Practices.” I believe the article was written in 2004. Well, to make a long story short the paper concluded that we just don’t bake the way we use to and our fast paced lives have lead parents and children down a dangerous path. Parents manage

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-29923606936432164282008-03-23T21:22:00.007-04:002008-03-24T08:48:04.195-04:00

Everyone knows that I am a big advocate for teaching folks how to cook. Look, there aren't many things you have control over, young or old, but when given the opportunity you should attempt to have control over what goes in your stomach; since you are what you eat. I spent Easter Sunday with my daughter who is seriously interested in learning to cook. She said she wants to be a “good cook.” I

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-54835044425541606932008-03-17T21:55:00.005-04:002008-03-23T07:00:19.654-04:00

The Great Recession of 2008: Recipes to Live By An excerpt:A “Recession” as described in macroeconomics is a decline in a country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. The United State of America is in a depression, but for the sake of inciting pandemonium I will continue to call it a recession. No one will admit it and

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-35011147144362544562008-03-16T13:10:00.009-04:002008-05-16T09:48:54.227-04:00

This is not a traditional blog. I have had a number of people contact me about the new class I am having for "serious bakers" who live in the Raleigh/Durham area. The details are below and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I will post a traditional blog tomorrow, Monday, March 17, 2008 and for all my Irish friends, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!Course Title:Starting a

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-31172154189378391512008-03-11T10:07:00.011-04:002008-03-11T11:24:44.836-04:00

Last year I taught a catering class to three talented women. I still here from one class member from time to time. She is selling her goods throughout the community and making a name for herself. I can only assume that the other two ladies are doing the same. I created the class because unless you attend a culinary art school/program you may not have an opportunity to receive information about

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-34604390692173509562008-03-10T13:49:00.004-04:002008-03-16T13:17:35.109-04:00

In recognition of St. Patrick’s Day I am going to provide the recipe for an inexpensive, tasty, filling soup that epitomizes the color green...in a good sort of way, depending on who you ask. This is one of my favorite soups because it is cheap, flavorful, filling and easy to prepare. Pea soup is by no means an American phenomenon. The legume was orginally cultivated by the Greeks and Romans

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-80365149565094130782008-03-09T10:05:00.007-04:002008-03-09T20:35:00.358-04:00

Rice and beans, beans and rice. No, we're not there yet, however I am old enough to have lived through a few recessions and I can tell you it is not fun. I have to say my mother and father best prepared me for the information I am about to share with you. I am certain that their parents and grandparents best prepared them. Living through tough economic times is rough for everyone and 2008 is

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-3212700909850899892008-03-08T17:02:00.004-05:002008-03-08T17:18:20.201-05:00

I was in the mood for some good old fashioned vegetable soup and immediately realized there was no restaurant around that served it. You know the kind mom use to make. My mother is a master vegetable soup maker. She could whip up a batch of vegetable soup on a cold Saturday afternoon, with cornbread on the side and make a dreary gray day into something spectacular, like a trip to Venice. I

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-79928854110637684762008-03-04T19:59:00.008-05:002008-03-05T06:15:33.459-05:00

I have been living in North Carolina for almost three years and I still can't find a restaurant that provides consistently good food. I know this is an issue everywhere, but for those restaurant owners in the Raleigh/Durham area, they don't realize that the worse sin you can commit is to prepare consistently bad food and pawn it off as good or even fairly decent. I don’t eat out a lot, but when I

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-70144527406382779852008-02-24T21:21:00.003-05:002008-03-02T15:36:28.892-05:00

It has been quite some time since I last blogged and that will not happen again, well barring any emergencies at least. I have received the first draft of my new cookbook, and although I have already edited the book, it looks wonderful and reads like a charm. I am proud of this work. I know with time I will only get better. I have been investigating, reading and researching what makes a really

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-70152128212482872612008-01-20T06:20:00.001-05:002008-03-05T06:23:24.373-05:00

Cooking is my passion, cooking is my life; so when I discovered a problem with a common ingredient I felt compelled to alert the public. For years in both commercial and home cooking I have used pasteurized egg products ( you know, the egg mixture that comes in a milk carton); but recently I purchased and used pasteurized whole eggs, for an outrageously rich rice pudding I was preparing for a

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3757088191144289883.post-11625588218242076962008-01-18T06:42:00.000-05:002008-01-18T07:33:44.662-05:00

Well, all I can say is, it's done. I just contacted my first real vendor and sent the email. This puts me in the mainstream of life, a place that absolutely horrifies me. I know, the woman who could do almost anything, walk on water if need be, is horrified. Yep, scared to death and I will just have to see where this little adventure takes me. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of

Name: Denayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14846761656531839966noreply@blogger.com