just ducky, and a special birthday
every year i vow to ease up on our schedule for October to November but every year i turn out the same, hectic on the verge of frantic. it’s all fun but i am feeling the cold and the ageing of my bones. akk. my two youngest kids’ birthdays are 11 days apart, with Halloween in between. then the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays creep up and say “boo” to me.
but look what i got in the mail! it rained down duck legs and duck foie gras mousse. i can’t wait to make cassoulet with the duck leg confit, and i can tell you the mousse is heavenly: light on the tongue yet deep and complex in flavor. it paired well with toast points. i have to find a bottle of Sauternes now.
source and ordering information plus recipes are here and on the side bar to the rightleft to the left…
my #2son is turning 7 tomorrow! we won’t be having a big family party until next week, so that our folks don’t have to celebrate twice in two weeks we combine his party with his big sister’s. then they celebrate separately with their special friends.
my “bonus” babybig boy helped me make star shaped vanilla cupcakes with milk chocolate buttercream…
…very liberal with the jimmies and sprinkles.
delivered to his first grade classmates and sweet teacher, he wants his birthday more often.
(recipe for golden butter cream cupcake and milk chocolate buttercream coming soon! follows)…
i just made a new batch for the after-soccer crowd tomorrow. i find that this is a great cupcake recipe that most kids love. in all the years of bringing sweets to their classrooms i’ve found that i must not bake anything with nuts and that not all children love chocolate. (why not?!:melodramatic: :detective:)
golden butter cream cake, from Rose Levy Beranbaum, “The Cake Bible”
ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 & 1/4 tsps. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 tsp. vanilla
10 and a half tbsps. butter
preheat oven to 350F. whisk together dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. in another bowl stir the egg yolks with the vanilla and 2 tbsps. of the cream.
with the mixer on low blend the dry ingredients briefly, then add the butter and the remaining cream. mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. increase to medium speed and beat for 1 & 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. scrape down the sides. gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. scrape down the sides.
scrape the batter into cupcake liners set over muffin pan, filling no more than half full (this recipe makes about 16-18 cupcakes) or into a greased, parchment paper-lined, then greased again and floured, 9-inch pan.
bake 20-23 minutes for cupcakes (25-35 for cake pan)–depending on your oven, or until a cake tester comes out clean and cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center.
let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. for cupcakes, remove from pan and set on rack to cool completely.
for cake, loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto a greased wire rack. for an attractive top reinvert so that top is up and cool completely before frosting or wrapping for storage.
October 21st, 2006 at 9:16 pm
tita stel, you have got to be kidding. i thought 5 lang si babyboy mo! are you sure he’s 7 already? am i living 2 years in the past? goodness, he’s grown and super pogi pa! kisses and hugs to the special birthday boy.
October 21st, 2006 at 10:20 pm
oh yes mama ppg!:dash-d-knight: time is zooming by too fast, i can’t carry him anymore:melodramatic::tragedy: and he’s in full day school, kaka-miss…thanks for the greetings and hi to your babyboy too:wizard:
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:30 am
happy birthday #2 son! that has got to be something big next week!
sadly, i’m still a foie gras virgin stel…:fryingpan
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:55 am
Uy HBD ke babyboy! Getting gwapo-er as the years pass! Pamatay!
Teka, I need to hunt your pichi pichi recipe…I knew I printed (or copied?) it before pero di ko na mahanap…kaya internet na lang uli.
October 22nd, 2006 at 3:02 am
my pichi pichi is here…http://www.babyrambutan.com/?p=408#comments, lots of helpful hints in the comments section esp. from Lani…
JMom also has one, microwave easy!!!
salamat for the greetings mamamanang….i was so touched by your reminiscing on your papa’s bakery! :goodvibes:grandma::glasses-slip:
October 22nd, 2006 at 5:01 pm
Happy Birthday #2 son!
Ate stel, napakaswerte naman ng mga kids mo. sana ikaw na lng mommy ko. hehehe… ang sasarap ng mga creations mo. pag binabasa ko tong blog mo, nagugutom ako lalo. buti na lang d nakakataba ang pagbabasa, kung hindi matagal na kong naggain ng weight..hehehe…:kitty::penguin:
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:45 am
Oh my, I’m feeling tired just by reading your entry, kakapagod naman sched mo Stel.
Happy birthday to your kids and also happy halloween na rin.
October 23rd, 2006 at 3:12 pm
enjoy naman ang lola
kaya lang katawan ay nagrereklamo at may rayu rayuma na mga kasu kasuan…:melodramatic: thanks for the greetings Lani:wave:
October 22nd, 2006 at 5:05 pm
hi cindy…trying hard nga eh:stirthepot:fryingpan sige blognanay? tita? dami ko nang anak anakan sa blog:grandma: hope it will inspire you to make your own taste memories too..heto na nga tatlong foodie na they have very sharp and discerning tastes (“this tastes old mama!” “something strange in the taste mom!”:lol:)
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:32 am
thanks for the HaBerdey greetings ces:dash-d-knight: medyo hilo ako sa kakalinis linis, gulo gulo my balay inday:drunk:
ya ako first time ko rin for foie gras mousse, ibang iba sa chicken pate, very subtle, nakakaadik pero hinay hinay lang din dapat…i need to try actual foie gras:detective::chef:
October 23rd, 2006 at 5:36 pm
Happy Birthday, #2 son!!:cake I keep forgetting halos pareho sila ni Clone. Bukas ang kanya. So nice that you can still bring cakes to their class room. Dito, kj ang school nila, no birthday celebrations
October 23rd, 2006 at 5:38 pm
and omg, I can’t believe you have some foi gras. Review mo yung product dito ha, so you can let us know how it is
October 24th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
happy bersdey to your baby Clone, JMommy!!!
if you remember at his preschool biglang bawal ang cupcakes–understandable na rin due to the severity of nut allergies in some kids but boy i’m glad we’re back at the “party school” where teachers welcome a little celebration for the kids….
re: the duck foie gras pate, naku grabe sa sarap J nakakalasheng na yummy ibang klase! i’m assembling the ings. for a duck cassoulet napakaraming exotic like Saucisson de Toulouse Lautrec?:lol:(fr the Mirepoix website)maybe i’ll do the simpler Tony Bourdain, pero grabe sa dami ng pork fat naman! :piggy:wave: