Post Valentine's Day never tasted so good

Valentine's Day.

Origin: During the reign of Emperor Claudias II, he obligated young knights and soldiers to leave their families for long battles. To ensure success, the Emperor commanded that all marriages be banned, allowing for the soldiers to focus more on the battle than their families at home. Not a believer in such tyranny, Roman Priest Valentine secretly married young couples. He continued the Christian ceremony until the Emperor became aware and ordered his imprisonment. While in jail, he was visited by many of the young couples he had married, whom brought flowers as a show of appreciation to the Priest. He also fell in love with the daughter of Roman Judge Asterius, who was prayed and healed by Saint Valentine. Right before his execution, on February 14th, he wrote a letter to his lover, with the famous line, "from your Valentine".

The memory of St. Valentine lives on in our annual celebration on February 14th. People who celebrates this holiday typically show their love through flowers, hearts, and cards with the words "from your Valentine". For some, it may not be the most significant of days, almost to the point of detesting, but for others, they share love and happiness with their significant other.

This year, I had seen many anti-Valentine's Day Meme on the internet, but you can't deny the fact that you get a ton of candy this time of year and all the cute holiday dessert ideas. I tested many different kinds of Valentine's Day confections, and I found the most success with the "Red Velvet Cheesecake". I first got the idea from my sister, who had made the recipe and posted on her blog Sweet Tooth Lulu. After a few tweaks for the Diner, I made them both in cake form and cupcake form. I couldn't keep them in the case! Hopefully everyone can smile about this recipe, enjoying every morsel, whether with a significant other or with your favorite spoon and comfy sweater.

Cupcake, my cupcake, so red and so luscious 

The inside look of the decadence 

And we all thought we were going on a diet haha

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE 


10" cake or 12 large cupcakes (cupcake recipe will be in italicize)






Ingredients:

Cake:
1 Box of Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cheese Cake (or use the Swans Down Red Velvet Cake Recipe*)

*One of my favorite recipes for cake. Use it for any other recipes calling for Red Velvet Cake





Cheesecake: (all ingredients room temperature)

20 oz Cream Cheese
1 1/4 cups Sour Cream
1 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup Heavy Cream

Topping:

8 oz Cream Cheese (Room temp)

4 oz Butter (room temp)

4 cups Powdered Sugar

8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream

MOP:

Make the Cake:

- For the cake version, bake the Red Velvet Cake in two 10" pans, following the box or Swans Down recipe. The cake will be thin. Let cool, wrap in plastic wrap, tight, and place in the refrigerator over night.

When making the cupcakes, make sure to have the cheesecake finished first.

-Mix the cake batter according to instructions.

-Pre-heat oven to 350F.

-Line large cupcake pans with cupcake liner.

-Fill the cupcake liners to a 1/3 of the way up. Using a smaller scoop or spoon, grab a 1 Tablespoon
size of your chilled cheesecake and put in the center of the cup cake. Pour more batter on top until
3/4 of the liner is full.

-Place in the oven. Turn oven down to 325F and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan around and bake for another 15 minutes or until the cake, when pressed with your finger, springs back naturally (like a sponge) I don't like using the toothpick test on this cupcake because of the cheesecake center.

-Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let chill another 15 minutes before topping.

Make the Cheesecake: (for both cake and cupcake)

-Pre-heat oven to 300F.

- Spray 10" spring form pan with oil and line with parchment paper (bottom is most important). Line the outside of the pan with aluminum foil to ensure no water seeps in. Set aside.

- In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese with a paddle attachment until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, ensuring there is no cream cheese lump. Add the Sour cream, sugar, and extract. Beat until combined. On slow speed, add the eggs. Beat until combined, scraping the bowl every so often. (DON'T FORGET THIS STEP! Scraping the bowl is very important for a uniform and very smooth cheesecake). Add the Heavy Cream and beat until combined.

-Make sure all ingredients are homogenous. Pour into your prepared spring form pan.

-Place the spring form pan in a larger pan (can be cake pan or large roasting pan that completely surrounds the spring form pan comfortably, without any tilting). Place the pans inside the oven. Pour hot boiling water into the larger pan to form a water bath. Water should come up to the height of the batter inside the pan. Lower the temperature to 250F.

-Bake for one hour. Turn the oven off and leave the door closed (DO NOT TOUCH!) for another hour. This ensures perfect naturally cooling, which means no cracks and smooth texture. Carefully remove the spring form pan from the water bath, remove the foil, and let set for 15 minutes at room temperature.

-At this point, if you are making the cake, wrap the cheesecake, still inside the spring form pan, with plastic wrap and place in your freezer over night. For the cupcake, the refrigerator will simply do.

Make the Topping:

- In a stand mixture, beat the cream cheese with your paddle attachment until smooth. Add the butter and continue to beat until homogenous and there are no lumps. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until your cream cheese icing is made.

- In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream into stiff peak whipped cream.

-Add a 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cream cheese icing and mix, by hand, with a spatula, until the mixture is uniform.

-Fold in the rest of the whipped cream, in two batches, until the topping is fluffy and smooth.

-Put the topping inside a piping bag fixed with your favorite star piping tip.

Assembly:

For the Cake:
-Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Make sure the tops of the cakes are level to ensure a uniform cake look. Place one of the 10" cakes on a dish or cake board.

-Remove the cheesecake from the freezer. Run warm water on the outside of the pan to ease release. Remove the sides. Remove all parchment paper. Flip the cheesecake onto your cake that's on the dish. Remove the bottom of the spring form pan and the parchment paper. Place the other Red velvet cake on top of the cheesecake.

-Using the topping that's in the piping bag, pipe the top of the cake in your favorite decorative form. I only decorated the top of the cake, leaving a naked cake visual. To finish, drizzle chocolate sauce (I used Hershey's Chocolate Syrup) as an added touch.

For the cupcake:
-After the cupcakes have cooled down, place them on your favorite serving dish.

-Using the topping that's in the piping bag, pipe the top of the cup cakes in a rosette form. To finish, drizzle chocolate sauce (I used Hershey's Chocolate Syrup) as an added touch.

Feeling Ill

     Summer  is officially here and I find myself feeling a little under the weather, but sickness I'm faced with is not easily cured by a pill or syrup. To cure my sickness, it's at least a twelve hour long process that can cost hundreds of dollars, depending on how the procedure goes.  Though the ailment's dosage have gradually declined in the past four years, I am afraid that that's not exactly good news.  All this makes me crave the cure more and more, the little pick me up that had never failed.; Mom's spaghetti!

     Now first things first, her spaghetti dinners had everything that one would look for in a great meal.  A complex red sauce with some of my favorite tomatoes, filled with aromatic herbs and spices and accompanied by crispy garlic bread for sopping up every last drop of food on your plate.  Only a few have had the pleasure to be familiar with this childhood delight like I have. Her sauce is comprised of ground beef, dried basil, oregano, cayenne pepper, and whatever else sounds good, and is bound together mostly with some of my favorite ketchup (bet you'll never guess what kind).  The bread was made from plain white bread covered in butter and garlic salt and baked till golden brown.  Last but not least is the pasta. It has to be angel hair or else it isn't right. Everyone knows that the pasta makes the dish and those slippery long strands of yellow noodle never disappointed.  Even though this simple dish should be easy for a culinary graduate to master, there is just something about it I can't seem to get right. There is a secret that only my mom has mastered with years of continuously cooking it, and I can trust no one else to make it right.

      In truth, there might be one more secret ingredient that I am aware of that makes this dish so special. It's the atmosphere of home that I am sick for; my family and those closest to me.  It's because of them that I have left home, but it's because of them that I am pursuing my dreams.  I am home sick for now but I will see them soon and, with all honesty, the spaghetti tastes the best after a long time away.  

Hines

Kikkos bake day

A small little tidbit about Kikko's day:

Part of moving to a new city is getting accustomed to our surroundings, correct? Being the bookworm that I am, I decided to visit the Saratoga Springs Public Library to see what it has to offer. To my pleasant surprise, it was a very welcoming, clean, friendly environment, with, most importantly, having LOTS AND LOTS of books (cooking books til I drop!). Who knows, maybe one of these books will inspire my next creation at the Country Corner Cafe. I got myself a library card and know that I'll be back and ready for some book action.

In other news, today was a very productive day for me. Began with 2 soups, (a seafood New England chowder and a kale and split pea soup) a blueberry pie, biscuits, and 2 muffins (a peach and coconut muffin and a banana walnut muffin). Phew. What a day. And it didn't end there. As we began closing down the restaurant, a regular customer calls in to make a 3 pie order for the next day, a blueberry pie and apple pies. Although the work will be given to Eric, the original baker, I couldn't help but remember all the apple pies I had made at my previous job. Although it won't be the same kind here, it was a trusty pie and I would like to share it with you all. So enjoy. Let me know if you have any tricks or secrets for your apple pie. Certain apples, caramel vs sugar, blind bake vs not, etc.

Apple pie :
Filling
Apples (we used Granny Smith, but any crisp apples that holds its shape works)- 8 small to med each
Brown sugar -1 cup
Granulated sugar -1/4 cup
Cornstarch-1/4 cup
Heavy cream- 1cup
Corn syrup- 1/2 cup
Salt- pinch
Cinnamon- pinch

Dough
Your choice of pie dough (9in pie pan size) or stay tuned for my go to recipe in another post

MOP (method of preparation)

1: Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all the filling ingredients, except for the apples, into a saucepan. Bring to a rolling simmer and allow the temperature to reach 225F. Use a candy thermometer for exact measurement. The caramel should be thick but still liquid. Beware of over cooking as it can lead to hard ball stage, making your caramel too hard.

2: While the caramel is working, peel, core, and cut the apples into thin slices. Approximately, when quartered, each quarter should give you 6-7 pieces.

3: Mix the apples and caramel together and set aside while you prepare your pie shell. If it is pre made, allow the dough to thaw slightly in the cooler. If the dough is homemade, roll out your dough and place it in the pie pan. Refrigerate for 15 min to harden the dough slightly. Have your top shell rolled out and ready.

4: With a slotted spoon, mix the apples again and then scoop into th pie pan. You want a small pool of caramel at the bottom of your pie, but you will not use all of the liquid.

5: Place the top shell on top of the apples. Press down carefully to let out any air pockets in the pie (this will allow for minimal air dome when baking, making a better presentation piece). Cut four small slits into the top shell for air vents. Adjust the edges with a knife for any over hang and, using beaten egg whites as glue, crimp the edges down firmly.

6: Add any decorations you would like with extra pie dough you have. Brush the top with a thin layer of egg whites you used earlier. Sprinkle a generous amount of sugar on top. When done, this will create a nice crunchy, sweet and beautiful crust.

7: Place in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 20 minutes or until you see caramel bubbling up from the slits. The bubbles should be slow and thick like. If it is fast and thin, cook longer as it shows there is too much moisture still inside.

8: Remove from the oven and let sit at room temp. Enjoy the slices warm or cold, with ice cream or plain. But remember, eat the fruits of your labor with a smile :)

Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy the apple pie. I will post the pie dough soon !!

Cheers and kanpai

Kikko

My First Course from Saratoga

A new start and a fresh beginning to make a name for myself and start a new chapter of my life with my best friend.  It's because of Kikko that we took this adventure head on together and decided to move to Saratoga Springs, New York.  Though this leap was taken on a bit of hope and faith it could not have happened without the hospitality of a big-hearted family willing to take us in for now.  And after being here for a week I'm beginning to feel right at home. 

This somewhat small town has kept to preserving their historic roots while developing into a place flourishing with opportunities for small businesses.  It is everything I could have hoped for from local farmers market held twice a week to the numerous amounts of restaurants of every type of cuisine that I can't wait to try.  I am so inspired by all this local food that I'm bursting at the seams to try as much of it as I can as quickly as I can.  This first week has been like an intermezzo course filled with fresh summer strawberries that has cleansed my life from the previous years and has me refreshed and ready for whatever course may be served up next.  

Hines

First taste

And so, the first week of Saratoga Springs have come and gone and Soy Sauce (Kikko) and Ketchup (Hines) (well, we have to give ourselves nicknames right??? ) have gotten ourselves situated. Everyone is so helpful and kind, it's hard not to become comfortable. 

Because it is still our first week in ( and also, Hines laptop decided to go on a fritz) I do not have any cool pictures to share with all of you, but it is in the works. Some of my future work at the restaurant will include muffins and random pastries I create, and I will be sharing some of the deliciousness with you. Plus, wouldn't that just make you want to come and visit even more??? 

One recipe I can share with you now is the soup I made today. It was a chicken florentine soup for the week and with all the rain pouring down, it only felt right. Very simple too:

Chicken- 1 pound 
Bacon fat- 2oz 
All Purpose Flour- 2oz
Yellow onion- 1 large each 
Spinach- 8 oz 
Whole Milk- 1 gallon
Seasoning ( whatever you like, but always salt and pepper)

Method Of Preparation (MOP)

1) Melt the bacon fat in a cook pot. Mix in the flour to make a roux. Remove from the pot and set aside.

2) Pour in 1Tablespoon (Tbsp) of oil into the pot. When heated up, place the onions in the pot and cook until slightly brown. Heat should be on high.

3) Put the chicken into the pot and cook until all chicken is white and opaque. 

4) Pour the roux back into the pot. After mixing, pour the milk into the pot and keep mixing. The heat should be at medium low.

5) Continue to cook the soup at low. Pour in 3 cups of water to the soup, or chicken stock if you have handy. Add in the spinach and cook until a low simmer begins. Cut the heat off and continue to stir for another 5 minutes. This is when the magic and creativity happens. add your spices and seasonings that you enjoy the most.  Try to come up with ideas that go well with chicken. I used paprika, smoked chili pepper, and garlic. when you're done, enjoy the soup!

If you come up with some very yummy ideas for this soup, please share in the comment box. There are so many varieties of herbs and spices out there that the combinations are endless. 

We hope you enjoyed this recipe and thanks for reading. :)

Cheers and kanpai 

Kikko and Hines

Ketchup N Soy Sauce

Welcome, everyone, to the new postings of Stephen Owens (ketchup) and Ilyana Kano (soy sauce). We're so glad to have you join us in our blog journey. Let us, first, introduce ourselves; get to know us a little better.

Ilyana- Hello, I am a 22 year old Japanese girl/women/lady (whatever you'd like to call me), youngest of three girls, and born in São Paulo, Brazil. Of course, you may wonder, what is a Japanese girl, born in Brazil,  doing in America? Well, short story short, immigration led my family to Brazil, then father's job led me here. Fair enough? Anyways, the reason for my joining in this culinary blog is to share my love of writing stories about the kitchen and all the recipes that I have tried, am trying, and will try.

Stephen- I am a 22 year old young man from the little place called Red House, West Virginia.  At a young age I developed a passion for cooking (mostly ramen noodles and pizza bites) and a love for all things food.  My work at "The Diner" and journey through the Queen City has led me to accomplish many things with some of the industry's best.  I want to share my passion for the culinary arts by sharing my thoughts and ideas in the kitchen and at the table.

Currently, we are both living in Saratoga Springs, New York. We both moved here, together, to start our new jobs at The Country Corner Cafe, and wanted to create an outlet for us to share our experiences of cooking new ideas, as well as, possible culinary adventures in New York and surrounding areas. It is our first time living in the Northeast and we'd like to document our times here.

So here's to our new grand adventures. Please feel free to comment on any recipe's or adventures we post, and also, any recipes you'd like us to try or create? As a new pastry chef at the Cafe, I am open to suggestions to help the creative juices flowing. (Also, if you're in the area, come and say hi !)

Cheers and Kanpai

Ketchup and Soy Sauce