Scrambled eggs with Oregon white truffles

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I'm taking a break from my Countdown to Kelly Ripa series to bring you this extremely important announcement:

Fresh Oregon truffles are now available at the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

Now I realize that this piece of news may not rock your world as much as it does mine. If, however, you are in Los Angeles, and you have any interest in truffles, drop what you're doing and head to the Clearwater Farms stand at the Wednesday market in downtown Santa Monica. Wait - I just looked at my watch - they're probably packing up by now. But they'll likely have these beauties for the next few weeks, so mark it on your calendar. And on a non-rainy day, get there early, because they'll likely be sold out by 10am.

If you've never tried Oregon truffles, you're in for a treat. They don't really taste like their Italian or French cousins. And if I say I like them more, I will forever offend my friend Franco at Sabatino Tartufi, so I won't say that. I'll just say that they're different. Very in-your-face, and with more edge than the European truffles I've tried. The aroma is sharp and pointy when compared with the rounder, softer smells of the Italian truffles Franco brought me a few months ago. But I love them. And you can't beat the price - today Dave at Clearwater was charging $15/ounce for the white ones, and $20/ounce for the black. I hope I got that right. It might be backward. But anyway, not too expensive.

So what did I do this morning, when I was already running late for work because of my stop at the market?

I went home and made scrambled eggs with freshly grated Oregon white truffles for Michael and me. A luxurious late breakfast for two. It wouldn't wait.

Do you need a recipe for scrambled eggs? I don't think so. We used a tablespoon of butter and five eggs. Cook over low heat. When they're softly set, scrape into a bowl or onto a plate. Grate as much fresh Oregon white truffle over as you can afford. We used a large marble-sized truffle for our breakfast. Sprinkle with flaky salt and freshly ground pepper. Eat with your eyes closed, breathing deeply.

Countdown to Kelly Ripa, day 20: Logo in royal icing

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Less than three weeks until I fly to New York to meet Kelly Ripa and decorate cakes on behalf of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. I've got so much still to do, so many details to nail down. Never mind the trivial stuff like making sure I remember my laptop charger, phone charger and Bluetooth headset. Should I wear my hair up or down? What the heck am I going to wear for the event? And I guess I need to find that makeup bag I never have time to open. Can't go to meet a national TV personality with my everyday bare face - my mother would be appalled. "Make an effort," she'd say. "You're too old to meet celebrities without foundation. And put on some lipstick."

To put off the beauty product dilemmas just a little longer, today I decided to try my hand at royal icing. First, I separated an egg and beat the white by hand to soft peaks with a whisk. I know, I know, I said in my year-end wrap-up that I have no patience for separating eggs, but I'm trying to become a better person in oh so many ways in 2010, so I've been parting yolks and whites with abandon this week. And I'll admit, grudgingly, that it's not so bad, whipping egg whites. My biceps are looking better.

Anyway, then I added powdered sugar to the egg white until it was pretty stiff. I probably used three cups of sugar at least. I separated the goo into two bowls and tinted them blue and green:

Then I put the colored goo into two small zip-top bags and snipped off the ends.

And then I made this on top of one of yesterday's cupcakes...

...which, if you look carefully, is a reasonable facsimile of the logo of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

Tah-dah!

Okay, not perfect. But a step in the right direction, you'll admit. I might have made the icing too loose, though. It didn't hold its shape very well as I was piping it. Next time, more sugar.

Countdown to Kelly Ripa, day 21: Chocolate cupcakes

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It's three weeks exactly until my trip to New York to decorate cakes with Kelly Ripa, thanks to Foodbuzz and Electrolux. Three weeks until our group of prominent food bloggers spends a day with one of the biggest stars of daytime television to ice, frost, pipe and sprinkle on behalf of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

Three weeks until I make a complete fool of myself.

Or maybe not. I might be making progress. For, as you can see in the photo above, I managed to bake cupcakes, make a simple buttercream, and experiment with not one, not two, but four different decorating tips. Which also means I managed to figure out how to get the pastry bag, coupler and tips to go together. And I know you can't see this from the photo, but you'll be happy to hear that I did all of this with some measure of grace and confidence, and without squirting frosting all over the kitchen.

Because Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible left me a tad overwhelmed, I looked for simpler options. I chose a foolproof cupcake recipe, the Emergency Blender Cupcakes from Abby Dodge's Weekend Baker. I love the texture of these cupcakes - light and with a beautiful moist crumb. They really say chocolate, too, not like some of those commercial brown cupcakes that might as well be colored with tree bark. I made them in the food processor because we don't have a true blender - and the recipe wouldn't fit in my beloved Magic Bullet - and I used olive oil instead of canola, because I forgot to restock the canola oil after Hanukkah. The cupcakes turned out perfectly.

Then, after looking at about 25 different buttercream recipes, I chose Gale Gand's Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, which I found on the Food Network site. I knew I wanted to color it, but my food coloring set only had blue and green, probably due to the "experiments" my kids did with food coloring and dish soap when they were younger. Then I realized that the symbolic color for ovarian cancer is teal, so I went for that. Kind of got aqua, but oh well. Take a look:

It took me a few minutes, and a few tries, to get the pastry bag put together with the star tip I wanted to start with. I actually ripped two of the disposable pastry bags in the process and had to toss them. But finally I got it all put together:

And then I just started free-forming. I looked at a great site from Wilton, the baking supply company, and I really wanted to try making roses or this chrysanthemum, but I couldn't figure out which tip I was supposed to be using. So I decided that my goal for this first attempt should be to keep the frosting in the bag (check), get a feel for how much pressure I should be using (sort of check), and try out a few different decorating tips (check). I particularly liked the effect of this "linguine" frosting...

 

...and of these little round blobs...

 

...and of the blanket of little stars:

 

Are they gorgeous? No. Professional-looking? No. I'm quite sure a talented third-grader could do better. But they're passable. And it's the first time I was able to complete a project involving a pastry bag and my decorating tips without tears.

I do have one question, though: The frosting got noticeably softer as I was piping it. Is this because I used a simple recipe that was basically just powdered sugar and butter, and the butter melted from the heat of my hands on the piping bag? Does that happen all the time? I do have very warm hands - good thing I'm not a professional pastry chef - so is there a better kind of frosting for me to work with that won't melt as quickly? Or do you have to stop and put it in the refrigerator from time to time to firm up? Advice welcome.

Countdown to Kelly Ripa, day 22: Cake time

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There are 22 days left before I head to New York to decorate cakes with Kelly Ripa to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, courtesy of Foodbuzz and Electrolux. The other day's frosting experiment was a total failure. I shed a few frustrated tears - yes, really, over frosting! - and then it dawned on me that maybe the problem was the frosting itself. It had been sitting around for a while and had dried out a bit. So maybe it's not me - maybe I just need better frosting.

And thus I am spending today reading The Cake Bible. If you're going to get started on fancy cakes, this is the only book you really need. Find a copy, open it to page 27, and look at the Rose Trellis cake pictured there. You'll see what I mean. I'm also in love with, but way too scared to attempt, the Art Deco cake on page 29. Rolled fondant calla lilies. Sigh.

I find this book intimidating, though. Never mind the 150 pages of cake recipes in Part I. I just paged through Part II, "Complementary Adornments for All Cakes," which includes chapters on buttercream, whipped cream, custard fillings, meringues, candy and nut embellishments, fruit toppings and purees, and special effects. I am overwhelmed. I know if I read carefully I will really understand the difference between a regular buttercream and a "silk meringue" buttercream, but is there really that big a difference in taste? And is it really worth making your own fondant when you can buy it in tubs like Play-Doh at Surfas, our local restaurant supply and gourmet store?

Looking at this book reminds me of Julie & Julia. If I really wanted to learn the art of cake decorating and baking, I would start at the beginning of The Cake Bible and keep going until I hit the end. The book jacket says "More than 200 recipes." I wonder if I could do it in a year? But I think it would end up being a year when I would become diabetic, put on 50 pounds, get ants in the kitchen from all the flour and sugar spilled, and be bored. Unlike Julie Powell, I do not have the patience for such a project. This I know.

Anyway, today I'll read, and maybe make some very basic cupcakes. Which, oh god oh god oh god, I will then have to frost.

Countdown to Kelly Ripa, day 23: Supplies

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For someone who doesn't (yet) like to decorate baked goods, I have an awful lot of decorative doodads in my pantry. Today I pulled them all out to see if any would help me as I practice for next month's cake decorating event with Kelly Ripa in New York, a benefit for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Here's what I found:

 

 

 

 

Notice that many of these come in large containers and were purchased either at Surfas, a most marvelous restaurant supply and gourmet store in nearby Culver City, or at Smart & Final, which is like a smaller version of Costco, minus the furniture and clothing, plus janitorial and foodservice items.

Notice also that only the blue and green food coloring remain. Where did the red and yellow go? A Halloween project years ago, maybe? Or to the "experiments" my kids liked to do years ago, which involved food coloring, dish soap and a huge mess?

So. What would you do with these? You're smart and creative. Me, not so much, at least in the realm of cake decorating. I'm looking for ideas for cookies, cakes, cupcakes....How do I put this stuff I've collected to good use? Tell me in the comments section below.